New Teacher Okumura
by Kinue
Summary: After Rin lost control during the exorcist camping trip, the other exorcists shunned and insulted him. Soon after Rin disappeared without a trace. 2 years later he returns, but as a changed, heartless, Self Defense teacher for the exorcists. (AU) Eventual Rin x Izumo/ Yukio x Shiemi. REWRITTEN
1. New Teacher Okumura

**Disclaimer: I wish owned Blue Exorcist...but sadly I don't.**

**New Teacher Okumura-**

_Yukio watched as Rin was making a fool of himself as he stood on a table belly dancing. On his stomach was a horribly drawn face, which Yukio thinks was supposed to be Shura. Rin pinched his belly button to make it talk as he spoke in a terrible imitation of a feminine voice._

"_Yew sorry excuses for exorcists need to work while I drink my beer in my trampy outfit." Rin mocked._

_Shima howled in laugher as he flopped on the floor holding his sides. Shiemi giggled away as she watched Rin let another wave flow across his stomach. Koneko laughed to but was a little ashamed to be doing so while Bon just smirked and tried not to look amused. Izumo however had look of disgust and furrowed her brows as she watched Rin's foolish acts._

"_Shouldn't you all be studying?" Yukio asked sternly. "I'd think that I gave enough home work to you all to keep you busy."_

"_Come on Yukio! You need to pull your panties out of your ass. Loosen up a little." Rin hopped off the table and walked to Yukio. He lifted his shirt again and made kissy noises with the ugly face and walked closer. Yukio looked quite unamused._

_Suddenly everyone stopped laughing. Rin turned to see what caused the laughter to quickly recede, and stopped dead in his tracks. Shura was standing in the doorway with a very irritated look on her face. How long had she been standing there?! She glanced up and down from Rin's face to his stomach._

"_What do yew think yew're doin?" Shura asked with an evil look in her eye._

_Rin rolled his eyes and started "Well we were ju-" before he could finish, Shura dashed towards him and caught him in a headlock._

"_Don't think yew can get away with something like this!" Shura yelled with a vain popping out on her forehead. "I think it's time to teach you a lesson Rin." Shura said with an evil smile. "Hey Yukio, do I have permission to take Rin out of class?" _

_Yukio stood for a second with his glasses glarring and showed a small devious smile. "By all means." _

_All color had drained from Rin's face. "Wait-" Shura pulled Rin away by his ear._

"_Nooooo! Someone help me damn it!" Rin screamed as he was dragged away. Everyone got a good laugh out of this. Even Yukio took a second to let the laughter leave his system._

* * *

Yukio awoke to the sound of knocking on his door. He had been dreaming as he sat in the wooden chair at his desk. He adjusted his glasses and stood up and stretched. Glancing around the room he sighed. It was an empty room with a single bed room with a desk, bathroom and window. He didn't decorate it much because he hardly spent time there since he was always on missions or teaching at the academy.

Someone knocked again, but this time a little louder. "Oi, Yukio, are you awake yet?" The voice sounded muffled through the door.

Yukio walked and opened the door. It creaked as it opened. He really needed to get it fixed. Shima was at the door in his T-shirt and boxers. "Hey sorry, I was wondering if you had any toothpaste I could use. I kinda dropped mine in the toilet." Shima said with a sheepish grin.

Yukio rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. He was never a morning person. Shima saw a deadly look of 'Why are you bothering me so early' on Yukio's face, and decided to walk away. Yukio slammed the door behind him, not wanting to deal with Shima so early in the morning. Yukio lived in the boys' dorm along with Konekomaru, Suguro, and Shima. It has been like this for two years. Yukio dressed in his teacher's uniform and walked out of his room.

Down stairs he grabbed his lunch that was made by the regular _Human_ chef of the boy's dorm. He took out his key and placed it in midair. With a twist of a the wrist, a door opened that lead to True Cross academy. He placed the key back in his pocket and stepped through.

* * *

He walked slowly thinking to himself. He had dreamt of Rin again last night. Though they were always good dreams, they always left him feeling sad.

Two years ago, not long after the incident with of the camping trip with the exwires group, Rin had lost control of his flames and went on a rampage. The True Cross exorcist officials had to come and get Rin under control. After the incident the other exwires kept their distance from Rin in fear. Even Yukio had kept his distance because to be honest he was a little frightened too. He had never seen his brother so...wild.

Bon and Koneko had called him _Demon _or _Satan's spawn_ while Shiemi stopped talking to Rin and quivered whenever he would pass. Izumo was alittle taken back by the whole incident and also had kept her space away.

One day Rin had not shown up for class, but they had not cared. Koneko had commented, "At least we can have a regular class without _That Demon_." Days went past and he had still not shown up, not even in his dorm. Yukio began to worry, as did all the others. Yukio had gone to ask Mephisto if he knew anything on Rin's whereabouts. When he had asked, Mephisto had gotten a confused look on his face. "He's not in school? Well well Yukio, you finally lost track of you older brother, huh?" he said with a curious grin.

Yukio had also asked Shura. She had be aware of his disappearance too, and was also searching for him. She had gone to the head Exorcists and asked them too but they all gave the same answers, "Haven't seen him. No, but I have noticed his absence. You want me to help look?" A week later without any results, Exorcists went out on a search for him. They came up empty handed. Yukio even went back to their home town to look, but there were no traces of Rin anywhere.

The exwires all began to worry. They also felt guilty as they thought their actions towards him might have caused his disappearance.

Weeks turned into months with no sign, nor any trace of Rin. The exwires all felt lonely and empty without their boisterous friend…friend…should they even be calling themselves friends?

They were all aware of their terrible behavior and they all regretted it. It changed nothing though. They couldn't turn back time, and couldn't fix their doings. They couldn't go back and hold their tongues. They could have talked out the issue with Rin, but instead they shunned him and ignored him for something he could not control. Konekomaru felt the most guilty however. Over time he had realized that what he said was unnecessary. He realized that Rin couldn't help it if he was the son of Satan and that he had tried his hardest to fit in. He had only released his demon side in the action of protecting them.

4 months turned into 9 and they all soon stopped searching for Rin, and left it to the head exorcists to find him. It wasn't like they didn't want to find him. They just needed to get back on track with their studies. But they hated not searching for him. It was like he had disappeared from the world. Without goodbyes. Without a single friend. Without the strength he needed.

They trusted that the other exorcists would find him and bring him safely back. It had given them some hope that they would be reunited with their friend and give their sincere apologies.

Two Head exorcists came in a few days after they returned to resume classes and interrupted Yukio's Demon History lesson. The elder spoke in an official tone.

"As you all know, Okumura Rin has disappeared without a trace 10 months ago." He cleared his throat and continued. "The Exorcist head council has come to the conclusion that the search will officially be put down." He looked around and sighed like he didn't want to be there. "We regret to have to tell you such news." He glanced around the room and coughed. With that they turned and left.

Yukio had stood abruptly from his desk with an expression of despair. They had actually given up. Everyone in the room gasped and gave looks of horror. Shiemi took the news the hardest and began to sob on the floor with her face cupped in her hands. There was no hope for finding Rin now. Shima looked away hiding his eyes. Koneko looked down in shame. Izumo gave an expression somewhere between anger and confusion. Bon stood stock still eyes wide in denial of the situation.

Time seemed to slow down then on. A Christmas passed and Yukio spent his 16th birthday without his brother. As another year passed things got back on track. Everyone was able to laugh again and have a good time, but there was always and empty spot where Rin was. Yukio took more time to accept that his brother would never return. He would never see his smiling face again. He had failed to protect him. The exwires all made sure to help Yukio get through it though. Soon after a while, Yukio was able to smile again. Things were back on track. The exwires exceled in learning their History on Demons, and how to successfully exercise and track demons. Yukio occasionally had dreams of all the fun times they all had had at True Cross.

A few months ago Rin's familiar "Kuro" finally found out that Rin wasn't coming back and had a break down. It was basically like the mourning for Shiro, but ten times worse. He ran amuck through Rin and Yukio's dorm, knocking down walls as he transformed into his true form. No one could understand him or comfort him as he dealt with one of his most difficult times. Yukio had personally tried to calm him down, and even tried the catnip wine that Shiro had left him. Kuro refused to listen and lashed out at Yukio. The campus was taking to much damage from the mourning familiar and they had to use demon tranquilizers to take him down. As they shot him down he screamed,

"_RIN…..RIN! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME RIN! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE SHIRO_…" he cried. Kuro looked around waiting for Rin to come and save him, but in the back of his head he knew no one was coming to save him. He cried himself to sleep and laid still.

Kuro is currently in True Crosses demon holding cells under a demon seal that caused him to slumber. With the dorm totally destroyed by Kuro and no other roommate, Yukio moved into the official Boy's dorm room. It's kind of sad that Kuro was abandoned like he was 2 years ago. Yukio came out of his daze as he entered the classroom where everyone was waiting. He took a longer time than he thought because he was lost in thought.

"Oi, Yukio, you're kind of late." Shima said giggling. He fell backwards as Yukio threw a piece of chalk at his head. Shima had barely changed in the two years. He still had short pink hair, but he wore a purple bandana around his head. The only real difference was that he was an inch or two taller.

Konekomaru however, had a growth spurt and was nearly 5 inches taller, but he still had his signature buzz cut. He no longer wore glasses. He had replaced them with contacts because he was afraid that he would lose them during a mission.

Izumo cut her hair shoulder length, but had hardly grown and inch and was still pretty petite. She wore gloves that had demon summoning circles on them and her normal skirt shirt and tie. Though she still had her stubborn look, she had softened up alittle over the years.

Bon's muscle tone was still thick and his hair was shorter and easier to maintain, but it still had the blonde streak running through it. His piercings were replaced by a single silver cuff earring that gave off a pure vibe.

Shiemi looked as if she had matured. She stood taller, stronger and she had grown her hair out long reaching down to her lower back. The top part of her hair was pulled up with a pink bow as the rest draped below.

Yukio had barely changed at all over the two years. All he did was grow an inch. He didn't change his look. He liked to keep it simple.

Yukio still remained the exwires Anti-Demon Pharmacology teacher and Shura was still their Demon hunting teacher, and they all had assisted on missions but they had never really gotten their own missions. Part of the problem was that they had no teacher that would each them the art of weapons or fighting. Only a few such as Shima and Izumo had ready weapons to use, but Exorcists all needed to be trained in the art of martial arts and weaponry as a backup. They all thought about having Shura be their teacher, but she didn't have the time to give them two lessons a day. She is always away on missions in her free time.

Yukio finished his lesson on the Demons of Goryon and Shura came in to take over. She planned on teaching them how to track an invisible demon using a potion derived from dragon spit, and dried hibiscus. Half way into the lesson, one of the most elite head members entered the classroom.

He was an older fellow who looked like he had a shadow of youth. Long blonde locks were pulled back into a loose pony tail and he wore a white suit with a sword latched to his side. His dark blue eyes shifted around the room. He was none other than Arthur Angel, True Crosses Paladin. Everyone glanced at each other wondering what was up.

Before he could speak, Shura spoke up. "Why are yew interrupting my class?"

Angel looked at her in disgust. "I'm here to bring important news." He paused and continued. "As we all know, we have been in need of a new Self Defense teacher." Yukio looked up from the book he was reading interested in finding out who the new teacher was. He put down his book and walked over next to Shura and all eyes were on Angel.

"I'm here to introduce you to our newest teacher." Looking out the door he motioned for the newest teacher to come in.

There was a pause, and the person came in.

Everyone in the room froze. Wide eyed they gaped at the familiar figure that came in. "You all know him, but it is still my duty to introduce you. This is Okumura Rin, from today onward he will be your new Self Defense teacher."

Yukio stumbled and knocked a coffee mug off the desk. The loud crash didn't seem to catch everyone's attention as they all just stared speechless at the figure who just walked in.

Rin looked different as he wore the long True Cross uniform coat, and leather boots. A silver chain dangled from the side of the coat and clinked as he walked to the center of the room. He wore a silver cross earring on his left ear that seemed to give off an eerie glow. Kurikara was strapped to his side like a samurai sword and he stood as tall as Yukio; his dark blue hair grew longer and flipped across his face. He had steely, cold eyes that matched his stoic face, and remained with an unemotional look. He looked more mature, but the type of mature reached through pain and experience.

They all barely recognized him.

**A/N: I tried to make Rin look like a total hotty. ;D**

**So what do ya think? PLEASE COMMENT and tell me what you think. Hopefully you will continue to read this story and enjoy it and BLAH BLAH BLAH...yeah whatever...HAR HARRRRRRRR!**

**Hugs & Giggles, Kinue**


	2. Built up Walls

**Disclaimer- I don't flippin own Blue Exorcist…**

**Built Up Walls-**

All the younger exwires just stared in complete shock at Rin. Why was Rin here? Why did the Council supposedly lie to them? Why did he look so different? All these questions swirled around Yukio's head as well as the other exwires. The silence that filled the room was unbearable, until finally Rin spoke up in a monotone voice.

"It is a…pleasure to be acquainted with you all." Rin stated blankly. "Like Angel said, I will take the place as your Self Defense teacher." His eyes look dead as if the fun and joy was sucked out of them. "Your classes will begin tomorrow at the training center in the East wing." He bowed partially, showing his respect and gave one last glance around the room, and then exited along with Angel.

"W-What the hell?" Bon stampered out as he continued to stare where Rin used to be standing. Everyone seemed to be just as confused as he was.

Shiemi gripped her tie nervously. 'Was that really Rin? He looks like he's changed' she thought. Shiemi shook her head and quickly came back to reality. 'Rin shouldn't be here…he disappeared. Why is he back now?'

Shura was just as confused and took this chance to bolt out the door towards Angel who had just walked out. He hadn't gotten far but Rin was no longer with him.

"Oi, what's goin on here?" Shura asked with narrowed eyes.

Angel just gave a look of innocence, like that of a child caught with their hands in a cookie jar. "Why I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about."

Shura grabbed his collar and pulled him closer just inches from her face. "Yew knows exactly what I'm talkin about! Why the hell is Rin here?! Not only that, but most of all why the hell is he working for True Cross?!" she huffed in anger. Angel glanced to her hand only thinking about how she was wrinkling his clothes.

"That is not for me to talk about. If you want more information on the matter, you will have to talk to the higher ups."

Shura gave a look of frustration. "The Grigori? What do they ha-"

"I said it wasn't something for me to talk about!" Angel cut in. "I suggest you don't go looking for trouble on the matter and if you would be so kind, please release my coat."

Shura reluctantly let go and watched as her only source of information walked away. Something obviously wasn't right here.

Back in the room there was chaos of everyone speaking at once. Yukio sat in a chair in the corner of the room staring at the ground. He didn't understand the sudden turn of events. After he had tried so hard to get over Rin, he just had to come crawling back into their lives. Yukio pinched the bridge of his nose to suppress the upcoming headache he was feeling.

Bon was in Izumo's face hissing his words. "How can somebody just pop up out of nowhere let alone go unseen for two years?!" He was clearly a little upset and was taking it out on the girl that usually had all the answers.

Izumo stuck a finger in Bon face. "How should I know!? I'm not the academy's dog you know!" she spat the words with haste. "Anyway, if he's working for the academy then he must have had some kind of training here by other exorcists." She paused to think to herself. "The question is how and why did the higher ups keep this from us?"

"Why would they lie to us?" Koneko asked nervously.

"I sure as hell don't know why! But I'm gonna make sure I squeeze the information out of somebody working here!" Bon cracked his knuckles with a determined look.

"Did you all see the way he looked…?" Everyone turned their heads to Shiemi who hadn't said a word since Rin came in. "H-He looked kind of scary." She had a soft look of sadness on her face. "He looked so…different" Her voice lowered into a whisper.

Shima moved in and patted her shoulder. "Well maybe that serious look was caused by some bad tofu he ate." He continued jokingly "I remember this one time when I ate a three week old piece of tofu and I literally sat on the toilet fo-"

"QUIT TRYING TO MAKE A JOKE OUT OF THIS! THIS ISN'T SOMETHING TO BE JOKING ABOUT!" Izumo's face was red with rage.

Shima scrunched his eyebrows in frustration. "HOW ELSE AM I SUPOSSED TO COME ABOUT THIS!? LAUGHING IT OFF IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THINGS!"

Everyone was surprised at his outburst. Shima never yelled even in tough situations. This just showed how upset he was.

Yukio took this time to jump into the conversation. "I don't know the reasons for these turn of events but its best that we learn to roll with them." All eyes were on him now and it seemed he had to force the words out. "I can assume that you all will no longer be able to pay attention for the remainder of your lesson. Due to this and the fact that your teacher is off who knows where, you all are dismissed. Rest up because apparently you will now have an extra class starting tomorrow." He adjusted his glassed and looked around the room for any objections then walked out of the room.

He had to find at least some information on this new addition to the academy.

* * *

Yukio sat at the desk of his dorm room. It was somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00, and everyone was asleep in their dorms. His room was only illuminated by a desk lamp sitting on a stack of "The history of Periwinkle" text books. Today's events had left him restless. He went searching for information with no avail.

Office after office, he had gone to so many. Not one person had any details to give. Most had no clue what he was talking about. All of his fellow exorcists had no idea that Rin was back let alone working on campus. He had asked all of the Middle and Lower class exorcists in vain and he always ended up where he first started. Things started to get weird when he moved up the ranks to ask questions.

He had started to ask all of the Upper Class exorcists and got all of the same reactions. There was a sense of trying to hide something coming from them. They all had shifty glances and always tried to end the conversation quickly. Many tried to pull the play dumb ticket. This however made it all the more suspicious.

Earlier Yukio had tried to talk to one Upper Class exorcist named Vinny. He was quite scrawny and had ginger features with a nasty overbite. He was somewhere in his late 30s, early 40s. Vinny was a very talented exorcist doctor and Yukio really looked up to him for that…except for the fact that Vinny was a total push over. He would always shake and second guess himself when others would talk to him. So the only outcome would be that he would be stuck doing everybody's dirty work. Yukio thought back to his conversation with Vinny.

~FLASHBACK~

"_Oi, Vinny! Can I talk to you for a second?" Vinny was making his way down the hallway with his arms full. _

_He turned around and answered with a crooked grin. "Sure I don't see why not."_

_It was obvious that he was having trouble keeping everything in his arms, no doubt that he had agreed to pick up everyone's things. "So…uh, have you heard the news?"_

_Vinny gave a questionable look. "Can't say that I have."_

"_Well I was just wondering if you knew anything about Rin now working here at True Cross."_

_Vinny's behavior immediately changed. His eyes grew wider and he began to quiver. "W-What…R-Rin is back? W-Wow what incredibly new stuff that I haven't heard before." He was trying way too hard on playing dumb and began to drop the things in arms._

_Yukio looked at him suspiciously. "You want any help with that?"_

_Vinny literally almost jumped out of his skin as Yukio reached to help him. "NO NO! It's alright. I can handle this myself." He scrambled to pick up all of the fallen things. "W-Well I've got to go. You know me being busy 24/7" And with that he scampered down the hall out of sight._

~END OF FLASHBACK~

It all just seemed to weird Yukio thought. Why were they all trying so hard to hide something? He had met up with Shura later on and she had gotten all of the same results from who she asked. She had also reported that the behavior got strange as she went to the Upper Class exorcists. Yep, definitely weird. Asking the other exorcist questions was going to get them anywhere. There only hope was to see if Rin would talk to them about what was going on.

Rin…he looked like he had changed so much. He looked so much more mature and stronger. It was strange though, whenever Rin walked into the room Yukio had felt nothing more than an intimidating presence coming off of him. There will be no way to tell how much he changed until they talk to him or go to his classes. Hopefully Rin is still willing to give them information. Yukio doubted it though. He could only think about how they had treated Rin two years ago and how that might have influenced the personality that he may have right now.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow." Yukio said to himself through a yawn. His eyes fluttered shut as he thought about another nice dream about Rin and the whole gang having a good time. And once again, he fell asleep at his desk.

* * *

Hikari skipped down the hall making her new dress twirl and spin. It had pink bunnies jumping on the trim and a pink bow flowing in the back. Her blonde locks bounced off her shoulders as she continued skip. She hummed "Do you know the muffin man" as she sucked on a strawberry lollipop. She entered a large room where many exorcist officials were sitting including Rin, who was lounging on a couch on the far side of the room. She continued to skip over to him.

"~Onii-chaaan~"

Rin's pointed ears twitched, but he continued to ignore the singing little girl.

"~Onii-Chaaan~" she sounded closer. "Oi, Riiiiin….Don't ignore meee…" she began to whine.

Still no answer.

Hikari began to pout but perked up as she remembered her winning move. This one always got Rin's attention. "~Rin-tama~" she sang.

Rin opened his eyes to find Hikari sitting on his chest looking at him with big blue eyes. "I told you not to call me that" he said in a steely tone.

"Aw, but it suits you so well."

Rin sat up making the little girl roll off of him giggling. "Why did you wake me up Hikari?" he said with a blank face.

She pulled out another strawberry lollipop and popped it into her mouth. "I was just wondering how it went today."

"I did as I was told, and it went according as planned. There wasn't much to it." Rin stated plainly.

Hikari giggled "Were you happy that you got to see all of your old friends again?"

"Friends? I wouldn't call them that. I would call them people at disposal." There was a hint of anger in Rin's eyes.

"Aw, that's not really nice Onii-chan." She began to fiddle with the bow on her dress. "So what are you going to do tomorrow for their class?"

"I'm going to do what my orders tell me to do." Any traces of anger on Rin's face had disappeared by now.

"Aaawww, that's no fun at all!" Hikari latched herself onto Rin's leg as he sat up to leave the room. "You should at least do some things the fun way."

Rin paused "The fun way…definition of fun…I don't think _**He **_would like that." With that he trudged out of the room with the giggling blonde girl latched to his leg.

**Woohoo! 2****nd**** chapter! Oh yeeeaaaahh! Well it kinda took me while my little children but here are your cookies *tosses sparkly cookies into the air* **

**Sorry Its kinda short… I WILL WORK HARDER TO MAKE THEM LONGER! ! ! !**

**PLEASE COMMENT, give feedback but please go easy on the insults, I know that I have a lot to learn and I will try really hard to improve. I really hope that this is an improvement from my first chappy.**


	3. Weaponry & Strength

**Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist… but I do own a fat cat (Just as good)**

**Weaponry & Strength**

The day after the unveiling of the newest member of the True Cross staff, everyone prepared themselves for their upcoming encounter with Rin's Self Defense class. Yukio and Shura's classes resumed without interruption and they all did their best to pay attention in class. The exwires couldn't help but to fidget and let their minds wonder while waiting for Self Defense class to come around. After Shura's lesson, everyone happily went to the court yard for lunch. Yukio told them that Rin's class would take place right after lunch.

Shiemi made her way to the court yard holding a bento wrapped in a pink cloth. She always kept a soft smile on her face and had a skip to her step. Her long blonde hair swayed a she ran to meet her friends who were already eating by the fountain in the courtyard.

"Sorry… I'm… late" Shiemi panted with a blush of embarrassment.

"S'ok, hey Shiemi sit next to me!" Shima spurted out while spitting some rice.

Izumo gave an unapproving glare. "How disgusting. Don't talk with your mouth full!" She ended it with a punch to Shima's head.

Shiemi sat next to Izumo and they began eating their bentos. During these two years Shiemi seemed to grow closer to Izumo. Izumo no longer insulted her whenever she sat next her, so she thought that was a sign of friendship. Izumo didn't really mind Shiemi spending time with her. She really missed hanging out with a friend after Paku left the academy.

They ate in silence until Koneko spoke up "So…Self Defense class is next isn't it?" he tried to say it casually, but that was impossible. Everyone looked at each other.

"Yeah, but its best that we don't stress over it. Follow what Yukio said and just roll with it for now. We will get our answers soon."

Bon scoffed. Izumo always had the answers. Shima once again spoke with his mouth full. "How is Rin the Self Defense teacher if he doesn't have hand to hand combat skills?"

Bon smacked his head again with much greater force than Izumo. 'How stupid can this guy get?!' Bon thought while furrowing his brows "There is no way we will be able to tell how much his abilities have changed in these two years. Not until we go to his class."

"Why is everyone bullying meee…?" Shima whined.

"Because you're an idiot." Izumo spat.

"I'm no-" Shima's retort was cut off by the lunch bell. Shiemi practically choked on her food and everyone gave nervous looks to each other. It was time to go to Self Defense class.

* * *

The exwires reluctantly entered the training warehouse, which looked more like a stadium. It was huge! It was lighted by various fixtures near the roof like on a baseball field and had dirt floor that resembled clay like on a running track. There were giant rocks and boulders placed randomly around the floor and in the near left corner sat a few benches used for rest or watching they assumed.

"Whoa, it looks like a miniature desert in here!" Shima gawked.

"Are we really going to be training here?" Koneko seemed a little impressed with the advanced training grounds they were in.

"Ok, I'm already B-O-R-E-D." Shima whined while kicking the dirt with the tip of his shoe. His mouth opened to whine again, but was cut off by Izumo throwing a rock at his head. They all made their way to the benches where they set down there bags and belongings.

Shima got off the ground and scampered after them. "Hey! That's not how you make friends!" Izumo just scoffed and unpacked a water bottle and sat on the bench next to Shiemi.

They waited for their so called teacher Rin. Five minutes had passed and still no one had shown up.

10 minutes

20 minutes

"Ok, that's it!" Bon stood up in anger "Where is he?!" Just as he spoke, the giant latched doors open, and Rin walked in. He wore that same exorcist uniform with his silver chain dangling from the pocket and still had Kurikara bobbing at his side. His dark hair still swayed across his face as he walked. He turned and made his way to the benches where the exwires were sitting. When he was standing about ten feet from them, he began to talk. "Excuse my tardiness. Something had come up." He gave short steely looks to those who were brave enough to look him in the eye.

Izumo narrowed her eyes at his attitude.

"Tardy my ass…" Bon grumbled under his breath.

Rin didn't hesitate to coldly reply. "Is there something you wish to speak to me about Suguro? I would be more than happy to give you the time to speak."

Bon glared and shook his head. Rin turned to everyone and raised his voice. "Today we are going to address the matter of what weapons you already have or will receive. All exorcists are required to have more than one weapon at all times. That way when your first Meister ability fails, you will have a backup. Everyone will have chances to work one on one with me to enhance your abilities." He paused when the large doors to the training grounds opened. It seemed to echo awkwardly through the entire building. Yukio entered soon followed by Shura who was cracking open a fresh beer. They stood on the side lines and watched the first lesson.

Rin continued "Those who already have a second weapon please step forward." Shima gave sideways glances to his friends and reluctantly walked forward with Izumo by his side. "Please state your weaponry."

Izumo was the first to speak up "In addition to my summoning gloves I have a G23 Glock that can fire 13 rounds. I'm training to also be a Dragoon."

Rin seemed to analyze the gun from where he was standing. "How much experience do you have with a gun?"

"Not much. I just received it a few months ago when I made the request to add Dragoon to my Meister Abilities. I've only practiced with it a hand full of times."

"We will see how you work with it later on." Rin turned to Shima who fumbled with his staff.

"In addition to my Aria abilities, I have worked on my Knight abilities over the years with my staff."

"So you are familiar and comfortable in hand to hand combat with your staff?" Rin's stare drilled into Shima.

"…Um…yes." Shima smirked and pretended to boast "I'd say I've gotten pretty good at it." Before Shima could open his mouth to speak again, his staff knocked away from his grip and was flung away. The sound of metal filled the air. The bottom of the staff stuck its self in the ground twenty feet away from him. Rin stood just steps away from Shima with his sword still sheathed pointing at him. Everyone stood with their mouths agape. Shura almost dropped her beer. She hadn't even seen him move towards Shima!

"Wha- what just happened?" Izumo stuttered.

"Fast... how the hell did you do that?!" Bon was quite confused as to what just happened.

Shima looked where his staff used stand between his hands. He was utterly amazed. When had he knocked it out of his hands?

"Never let your guard down. It seems you need way more practice and technique." Rin placed Kurikara back by his side. "You will all learn to be quick and agile. Quiet and swift. And most of all, you will all learn respect. Some of you seem to be lacking this necessity." He turned and walked away from Shima who was still awestruck.

Yukio swallowed. This wasn't the same Rin from two years ago. He didn't hesitate to scare them or put them in danger. He had never seen anyone move that fast or quietly. Not only that, but it looked as if Rin hadn't been trying at all. How could someone advance this much in two years? Especially from Rin's level two years ago?!

Rin continued as if nothing had happened "Would everyone else stand forward and tell what weaponry you like to try." Everyone did as told and stood in a line facing Rin, except for Shima, who was running to get his staff.

Bon spoke up first "I would like to try the Knight Meister and work with a sword." His answer was short and to the point. They moved down the line.

Koneko tried to sound confident, but it came out as a squeak. "I would like to try the Dragoon Meister. I'm no good at hand to hand combat." He seemed to fade away on the last sentence.

Shiemi surprisingly spoke with confidence. "I would also like to the Dragoon Meister a try. I've never really held a weapon before, but I want to be able to fight."

Rin nodded at the responses. "The basic Dragoon uses a LG-406 and it is what you will be using. As for the two knights here, you will start with practice weapons." Bon only scoffed at this.

"What? Are we going to use wooden swords?" Bon smirked

Rin stared for a second and replied shortly "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

Shima, who was now back with his staff joined the conversation. "How come we have to use fake weapons while they use real guns." he whined while pointing at the others.

Rin replied like it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. "I specialize in the Knight Meister, so my abilities will over power you during training. If we use wooden swords, I will inflict less damage to you than with a real one."

Shima nodded his head in agreement to what Rin just said. He didn't feel like getting his arms chopped off this week.

"As for the guns, they could easily be filled with paint bullets. I will not allow any real bullets until they are familiar with their weapons."

On the other side of the warehouse, Shura was pretty impressed at how strong Rin had gotten. "He's stronger physically and mentally." She gulped down her beer. "Pwaaaah~ He's not such a shrimp anymore is he."

Yukio watched the lesson as they spoke. "Yeah...I guess he isn't." He looked kind of sad as they spoke. "He looks like he has changed. He's cold and more mature...Have you noticed?"

Shura laughed at this "Ha, Yukio. I think everyone has noticed that he has changed. It's obvious that something has changed him. But who knows?" She crushed her can and tossed it to the ground. "Anyways, besides Rin's little out burst at Shima, nothing strange seems to be going in here. It's just a regular class going on."

Yukio shifted his gaze to the ground. "But there is something strange going on in the ministry, and we need to find out what's going on behind the scenes." He furrowed his brows.

He looked back up to the exwires who were getting ready to run laps around the building. Out of the corner of his eye, Yukio saw Shura walking over to them.

"Oi! Okumura!" Rin turned his head to see Shura walking over. Yukio sighed and pinched to bridge of his nose. What was Shura up to? "Why don't yew and I sparse alittle?" She said with a smirk.

Rin gave no sign of emotion "You shouldn't interrupt a lesson just for your own childish games. I don't have time to sparse with the likes of those who aren't here to learn."

"Oh, how mature of yew. Yew're such a big boy." Shura mocked. She put her hand to the red symbol on her chest while chanting "Devour the Seven Princesses, slay the Serpent." and pulled out her demon sword 'Kirigakure'. "Let's see how much this big boy has grown!" Shura shouted as she ran towards Rin.

"If you want to fight so badly, let me teach you a lesson." Rin said with a stoic face. With rapid ability, he dodged Shura's slash and proceeded to knock the sword out of her hand only to come up empty handed.

"Come on Okumura! Yew gotta take me seriously in a fight. I'm not as weak as that exwire over there."

"Hey!" Shima shouted from the side lines. "I'm not weak!"

Shura dashed towards Rin at full speed and made a jump into the air. "Demon sword technique, Snakefang!" Dozens of air blades flew towards Rin at lightning speeds. He seemed unfazed by this attack and merely dodged all of them with quick steps. Dust clouds filled the air blocking all views of the battle going on. Rin stood in the middle of the dirt cloud waiting for Shura to make her next move. Shura's attack came from behind "Hebiransu!" The demon sword glowed and transformed into a wave edged blade that looked like a snake itself. Shura made a move at Rin with great force. The exwires could feel the pressure of energy coming from within the dirt cloud.

With a precise movement Shura's attack was parried by the sheath of Rin's sword.

Shura went in for another attack and put all of her force down on Rin's sheath. They stood eye to eye glaring at each other, until Rin manage to throw her off of him. Rin stood a few feet away from Shura and pointed his sword at her. "Just tell me if you want me to get serious." He stated blankly.

"But I already thought yew were." She chuckled. "Looks like yew've been slacking for the last 2 years Okumura. If yew're not at full power now, then lets see it!" She smirked. "I at least want to beat yew at full power." She mocked. Shura sent her snake familiars after Rin. The half transparent snakes shot at Rin with open fangs.

"God who has cleansed thee, rid thy of evil and filth. Wash the land with the blood of a holy lamb. Begone!" Rin fluently spoke the verses and made symbols with his fingers. A bright square drew itself around Rin and formed an energy barrior. The snake familiars disintegrated instantly as they crashed right into the barrior trap.

Shura was a little surprised that he new his verses. "Well, well Rin. Looks like you have been studying." She smirked "I was wonder what you have been doing for the past two years."

Rin seemed a little annoyed at her comments. "Let's finish this lesson." He growled while dispatching the barrior. Rin's eyes seemed to darken and grow bigger like an animal hunting in the dark. His hair began to flow around him. The look gave Shura shivers down her spine. You could practically feel dark energy flowing out of him. From outside the cloud Yukio could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Rin unsheathed his sword with a quick flick of his arm. A wave of pressure shot away from him like a sonic boom. The dust cloud cleared instantly and everyone finally got a view of the battle. Rin was pointing his unsheathed sword at Shura, but something was wrong. There were no flames coming off of Rin. Shura's eyes widened in surprise of the lack of flames. His eyes were harsh and he looked ready to take the kill.

Rin shot forward like a bullet and pushed Shura backwards with great force. He thrusted his sword forward into Shura's shoulder. She hissed in pain and backed away quickly. She wasn't able to keep up with his movements. Shura felt pain searing in her leg and looked down. There was a large gash on her leg. She hissed in pain again. There was a large gash going through her side now. She realized Rin was behind her now and blocked his blow with Kirigakure. She was breathing heavily as she clutched her side trying to stop the bleeding.

Attack after attack it seemed. He didn't give her a chance to recover.

It was amazing Bon thought. He was sure he was thinking the same thing as everyone else. He'd never seen anyone move that fast. He didn't even see Rin move at all let alone make attacks. It was like he was in one spot at one time then in another in the next second.

Shura blocked another attack only to get cut by another. Time seemed to slow down as she caught a glance of Rin. He looked like a wild animal playing with its food. She came back to reality as Rin Knocked her across the room into a boulder.

Yukio couldn't believe his eyes. Rin was beating Shura like he was squashing a bug. He was relentless, and didn't hesitate to hurt her…kind of like when she would hurt him during their training lessons. But this was different. There was a look of killing in Rin's eyes. Yukio didn't like how this fight was going.

Rin walked over to Shura who looked ready to fall over. He spun his sword in his hand and spoke in an icey tone. "What happened to that nice attitude of yours Shura?" His stoic face scared Shura. 'When had he gotten this strong?!' she thought. She was beginning panic as Rin walked closer.

"I hope you learned something from this lesson." Rin hissed as he kicked Shura to the ground. He stomped his foot onto Shura's chest and Kirigakure disintegrated. Shura gasped as he continued to put force on her ribcage.

Everyone watched in horror as Rin beat up Shura like a ragdoll. Rin pointed his sword at Shura's head and lifted his arm to swing. The sound of gunfire was heard and Rin moved to dodge the upcoming bullet. He turned to see Yukio walking up with his gun pointed at Rin.

"That's far enough Nii-san." His voice was stern and hard. "What do you think you're doing?"

Rin's eyes were lifeless and he just stood there for a second and blinked. He looked down at Shura and stated plainly "She wanted me to fight her, so I did." He narrowed his eyes at Yukio's gun. "Do you think you have the authority to point that toy at me." He seemed to lather the words with hate. "Know your place. You are beneath me."

Yukio was close enough to stick the gun against Rin's head. "Go ahead…shoot me. I know you Can't do it." His words stung Yukio.

"I Suggest you back away from Shura. You shouldn't have gone this far, what if you killed her!" Yukio was angry now.

Rin removed his foot and turned and started to walk away. He sheathed Kurikara and replied without even turning around. "What difference is it? Alive or Dead, you people mean nothing to me." He said the words with true hatred and disgust. He left the building with a loud clang of the large doors.

Shiemi took these words the hardest and began to tear up and cry. Seeing this Izumo put her arm on her shoulder to comfort her. They couldn't do anything during the fight. All they could do was stand and watch as everything happened in front of them. Bon shook with anger. This was unforgivable, and he couldn't believe the Rin could do such things to them. He officially hated Rin's guts now. Koneko was absolutely frightened at what just happened. Though he never even let his demon side out, he acted like a bloodthirsty animal.

Yukio called Shiemi over to help with Shura's wounds. She wiped her eyes and ran over to the pair sitting on the ground. How had things turned this way?

* * *

At True Cross Head Courters all the upper class exorcists were talking amongst themselves around a giant table in the meeting room. Rin sat outside the window on the roof overlooking the campus. It was much quieter than inside the room.

Everyone waited for _**Him**_ to arrive. Today they would be discussing important matters.

The door opened and everyone got silent and turned their heads. They had expected _**Him**_ to be here, but it was only Hikari who skipped in. Everyone sighed and sat back down. She wore a pink frilly blouse with a white skirt that twirled when she skipped. She talked to a random ginger guy at the end of the table. He looked as if all work was piled onto him and was struggling to finish all the paperwork.

"Have you seen Rin-tama?" she asked in a petite voice.

At first he couldn't see her over the large stack of paper. He was surprised to see Hikari standing in front of him. "Um…yes."

"Could you please tell me?" She said while popping a strawberry lollipop into her mouth.

"Uh…sure. He is on the roof outside the window, but I wouldn't talk to him right now." The scrawny man warned. "He's in a bad mood right now."

"~Thank you~" she sang sweetly as she walked away. It was best that she didn't bother an angry Rin. "I wonder what got him so angry." She thought out loud.

**Here you go my children~ One spankin hot new chapter! Sorry it took longer to make this one but…..**

**IT IS QUITE LONGER!**

**Just about 4,000 words. That's the most I've done so far….I probably shouldn't be proud of it though. They should be even longer!**

**PLEASE COMMENT I love the input! Thank youuuu! –Hugs and giggles Kiki **


	4. Hold Back Anger

**Disclaimer: *British accent* Sir…I doth not own Blue Exorcist nor shall I eva.**

**Hold back anger:**

Shiemi lay sprawled out on the floor of Izumo's dorm as she dully sipped from her strawberry milk pouch. Rin's words still rung inside her head. '_Alive or dead, you people mean nothing to me.' _Just remembering the words made her chest sting and feel tight. Shiemi starred at the ceiling and closed her eyes as a soft breeze came in from the open window.

Earlier she had helped take Shura to the infirmary along with Yukio and her other classmates. Though Shura had only superficial injuries, Shiemi had made it a huge point to stay in bed and get lots of rest. Shura only scoffed at this and was up and going an hour later.

~FLASHBACK~

_Shura leaned against Yukio and Bon as they made their way to the infirmary._ Shiemi _wasn't far behind, panicking about how she should've added more herbs to her wounds._

"_Quit yer fussin. I'm all right!" Shura protested while waving her fist and winced as she strained one of her wounds._

"_You're obviously not alright." Yukio huffed in a worried tone. "If I hadn't stepped in, he could've seriously hurt you!" _

"_Y-yeah, h-he didn't look like he would hesitate to hurt you…" Koneko's voice barely made it to the front of the group._

"_Koneko's right, Rin is bad news. Did you see the way he acted?! He acted like a wild animal mauling its prey!" Bon was pretty pissed off about what Rin did to Shura. "And let me tell ya, when I see Rin, I'm going to personally give him a verse or two!" Anger practically shook from Bon._

_They entered the infirmary where Izumo was already waiting. She had run ahead to give the nurses a heads up that there was going to be an injured person coming in. They guided Shura to a nurse bed where she tiredly flopped down._

"_Damn…I gotta admit it. That kid packs a mean punch." Shura winced again as the nurse started to wipe her wounds._

"_Good heavens child! What have you been doing?!" The nurse scooted in closer to take a better look at Shura's wounds. She was a short old woman with gray frizzy hair tied in a top bun._

"_It's none of yer business granny!" Shura seemed a little agitated with the little old lady that was all up in her space._

_Yukio shook his head. "I'm sorry for her behavior. She gets a little cranky when she's injured."_

"_No I don't!" Shura protested_

_Yukio turned back to the old woman only to find that she wasn't listening at all. She walked to her medicine cabinet and stepped on the stool sitting in front of it. The white nurse coat the little old lady wore seemed a little too big for her and she tripped on it as she climbed from the stool. Though she had just tripped, she still seemed happy. She carried a little white box with a red cross on it._

"_You all can have a seat while I treat this child's wounds." The old lady said in a sweet voice. _

_Shura rolled her eyes "I'm not a child…" she huffed._

_The old lady seemed to know what she was doing so they all took a seat on the remaining beds and chairs. _

_The little old lady went about cleaning Shura's wounds and bandaging them up. "It looks like you got in a fight with a bunch of kitchen knives." The old woman said as she tightened the knot of the bandages with her teeth. Shura winced at the tightening of the bandages. _

_The little old lady washed all of the dried blood off of Shura and disinfected all the cuts and gashes while wrapping the one gash on Shura's side extra thick. They already went through a whole roll of bandages before the bleeding stopped. She finished up by putting some cream on all of the already showing up bruises._

"_We are terribly sorry for this inconvenience." Yukio said formally._

"_Now now, there is no need to be so formal with me. After all, I'm just an old school nurse." She closed the first aid kit and returned it to the cabinet. "I would appreciate it if all of you would call me Hiro. I hate it when people address me so formally. It makes me feel so old!" She said with a chuckle._

"_Hiro… That's a really cute name for an old lady!" Shima said with a wide grin._

_Hiro gave a wrinkly smile "So young…So much energy." She walked towards the door. "I suppose you all would like some time to talk amongst yourselves. And if you will excuse me, I have a date." The little old lady flashed a peace sign and closed the door behind her._

"_I bet she's fun at parties." Bon smirked._

_Yukio smiled at the comment but quickly came back to reality. He turned to Shura who was quietly starring at the ground. She had been silent after Hiro started tending to her wounds. "Shura…?"_

_Shura looked up to the faces of her worried students. "What are yew all lookin at?" She said with a smirk._

"_We need to discuss the matters of your fight" Yukio said as a matter of fact. _

"_Yeah, what was up with Rin? Last time I checked, he had a serious flame problem." Bon really wanted answers to all of his questions. _

_Yukio nodded his head; he was also thinking the same thing. It wasn't normal that Rin's flames were gone. He can't unbecome the son of Satan after all. _

"_Come on Shura, tell us about the fight." Shima whined._

_Shura sighed; it was time for her to seriously talk with the students. She adjusted her sitting position and began "As all of yews have noticed, Rin has changed over these two years. It seems as though he has become more aggressive." She looked around the room to see if she had everyone's attention._

_She cleared her throat and continued. "It is also very noticeable that he has grown completely stronger than the last time we have seen him." Shura swallowed to ease her dry throat. Just thinking back to Rin's beast-like eyes got her heart pumping again. "I have never seen anyone on his level before, and not only that… It seemed as though he wasn't even trying."_

_Everyone in the room shared nervous glances. Shura continued "It is highly important that all of yew don't push Rin to the fighting point. As yew can all see, he will not hesitate to hurt yew, so don't start a fight you can't win." Shura looked back down to the floor. "I admit it was stupid of me to start a fight with Rin, and I didn't think that he would act that way. I should've thought more about my actions." Shura gave a soft chuckle avoiding the eyes of the others. "I didn't even take into consideration that Rin was an Arc Knight."_

_Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait…Rin's an Arc Knight?!" Bon shouted out._

"_Is it even possible to reach such a level in just two years?" Izumo asked just as shocked as Bon._

_Yukio cut in "When did you find this out." He was desperate for some kind of information on what was going on here._

_Shura leaned back on the bed and looked back at the exorcists. "I found out this morning. I personally went back to that damn Arthur and asked about Rin's Rank. You would have to be at a high rank to be able to teach a class. I had only expected him to be somewhere in the Upper 2__nd__ Class at most, but damn…he's an Arc Knight…"_

_Yukio looked distressed. He was only an Upper 2__nd__ Class exorcist right behind Shura in the ranks. Rin had really surpassed him…Yukio was supposed to protect Rin, and now that wasn't impossible. He no longer needed protecting…he didn't even need any of them anymore._

_Shura rubbed her eyes with her bandaged hand. "I think its best that all of you throw away your hopes of the old Rin right now. He isn't going to come back with open arms or his wide smile. This is a totally different person and I hope that all of you keep that in mind."_

~END OF FLASHBACK~

Shiemi opened her eyes again to find Izumo at her desk reading a book. She guessed that she had fallen asleep while lost in her thoughts.

"It's not polite to fall asleep in other people's rooms." Izumo stated from the other side of the room. Shiemi gasped and sat up with a blush of embarrassment.

"I'm s-sorry! I g-guess I was just so tired an-" She began.

"It's okay…" Izumo returned to her book. "A lot happened today. It would be weird if you weren't tired."

Shiemi gave a soft smile. "Yeah…I guess you're right."

"It's pretty late. I think your mom will start to worry if you don't get going."

Shiemi yawned. "What time is it?"

Izumo glanced to the clock sitting on her desk. "8:45."

Shiemi shot up. "Oh god, I didn't know it was this late!" She stumbled around the room to gather her things. "I was supposed to be home at 7:00 to help my mom in the shop!"

She sloppily put on her shoes and dug around in her bag. "Ah ha!" She pulled out her exorcist key and turned it in midair. The bright lining of a door appeared in the middle of Izumo's dorm and manifested itself into a large wooden door.

"Thanks for letting me come over Izumo! I'll see you tomorrow!" Shiemi gasped as she ran through the door. Izumo nodded and gave a small smile as she watched the door vanish.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. To be honest, she was also physically and emotionally tired. 'Today took its toll on everyone' she thought. Izumo closed her book with a slam and turned off the desk lamp. She made her way to her bed and flopped face first into her pillow.

'I have never seen a technique like Rin's before.' She started to think to herself. 'His speed and agility was mind bending, I couldn't even keep up with his movements!'

'I wouldn't think that someone could advance so much in just two years…' Izumo turned over and stared at the ceiling. 'I wouldn't also think that someone could change that much in just two years. I suppose that we are the main cause for Rin's new behavior.'

'I don't find it surprising. All we really did was insult, ignore or hurt him.' She pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Yep, we were the definition of bullies.' Izumo felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. 'Even after he protected Paku and me, I still didn't protect him. I should know best what it is like to be ridiculed, and ignored.'

She closed her eyes 'And yet why didn't I speak up for him? Was it because I too was scared?' Izumo turned on her side and just like Shiemi ; she fell asleep in her thoughts.

* * *

The next day went about like any other day. Yukio made sure to bore them on the history of Periwinkle and to also give them plenty of homework. And to everyone's surprise, Shura actually showed up to teach class.

Of course Shiemi had a panic attack or two about Shura walking around when she should be resting. "S-Shura! You shouldn't be walking around, let alone teaching!" Shiemi said in a worried tone.

Shura scoffed. "This is nothing. I've had way worse happen to me." Her tuff attitude made Shiemi ease up a little.

Once Shura started her lesson, Yukio sat on the side lines contemplating the actions that would soon follow this class in Self Defense. He had gone to Mephisto this morning after seeing to it that Shura's bandages were taken care of.

~FLASHBACK~

_Yukio knocked on the large door to Mephisto's office. He was greeted by a muffled singing voice from the other side of the door. "~Come iiiin~" Yukio reluctantly entered. He personally didn't like to visit Mephisto unless he had to._

"_What brings you here ~Boy" He made sure to sing the last word extra-long._

_Yukio cleared his throat. "I'm here to talk to you about the actions of my brother-"_

_Mephisto spun around in the giant chair in front of his desk. "Ah! Did he already goof off or something?" He cut in. _

"_No, he-" Yukio began again._

"_Wait don't tell me…He was caught spying on girls!" Mephisto howled with laughter._

"_No!…This is a serious matter!" Yukio could feel his voice raising in anger. "He seriously hurt Shura in a training exercise!"_

_Mephisto stopped his shenanigans and was a little surprised at Yukio's little outburst. "Come now Yukio, I'm sure that he was just playing arou-"_

"_No! He looked like a blood thirsty monster…he didn't care that he was mauling Shura. He didn't care that he hurt us…" Yukio's voice dropped into a whisper._

_Mephisto stared out the window and thought for a second. "I wouldn't expect anything more or less than that. After all, it is probally you who drove him away."_

_Yukio looked down in guilt._

_He turned back around with a devilish smile and chuckled. "But there are other things to discuss! As you know, there is something odd going on around here, and the reappearance of Rin isn't just some coincidence."_

_Yukio looked back up and raised an eyebrow. "You suspect that the council might be planning something?"_

_Mephisto stood up and flashed his cape. "Ah! Exactly! The higher ups never tell me anything these days, and I don't appreciate being left out."_

"_Do you have any sort of information at all?" Yukio asked desperately._

_Mephisto put his hand on his chin "Hmm.. Oh yes, but I will only tell you because you're my favorite exorcist." He joked_

_Yukio rolled his eyes. "Please go on."_

_Mephisto cleared his throat and continued. "Amaimon told me he had seen Rin along with many upper class exorcists heading to the main meeting room last night. He had gone in to try and spy on them… you know how nosy and annoying he is right?"_

"_Just continue!" Yukio huffed._

"_Any who, when Amaimon entered the room in his chubby hamster form, no one was there." He chuckled._

"_What…but the main meeting room only has one door. It is impossible for them to just disappear." Yukio thought aloud._

_Mephisto walked to the door. "Yes yes, that is what I thought. But it got me thinking, what if they were transported elsewhere to prevent spies or unwanted guests." He opened the door. "Doesn't that make sense?"_

_Yukio stood thinking to himself until Mephisto broke him out of his daze with his loud voice.__"It was nice talking to you Yukio, but you must be going now. Your class starts in three minutes."_

_Yukio looked at his watch and gasped. "Tell me more information whenever you get it." He stated while running out the door._

"_Of course young exorcist~" Mephisto sang "Chao~" _

_~END OF FLASHBACK~_

Yukio was brought back by the ringing of the lunch bell. Everyone emptied out of the room and headed to the court yard to talk and eat. Yukio watched as Shura hopped from the desk and headed out the door.

"Shura."

Shura turned at Yukio calling her name. "What? I'm kinda hungry, so make it snappy."

"Will you be joining us in Rin's class today?" Yukio asked seriously.

Shura paused for second as if she was really thinking about it. "Yeah, sure why not?"

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." Yukio said in a worried tone.

"I'm fine four eyes" She said with a smirk. With that she left to go find some lunch.

Yukio sighed to himself 'She shouldn't push herself so hard' Yukio thought. He had noticed how she hesitated earlier. 'What would the old Rin say at a time like this...Probably -Pull your panties out of your ass-' Yukio chuckled at the thought and left for lunch.

* * *

Everyone entered the training warehouse after the second lunch bell rang. Shiemi personally didn't want to be here today, as did everyone else. During lunch Bon had only talked about what he was going to do to Rin whenever he saw him.

Rin stood on the side lines with a decent sized box. "Everyone make their way over here." He acted as though nothing had happened yesterday.

"That bastard…" Bon grumbled. Izumo shoved him to stop his comments before it got him in trouble.

They followed orders and made their way towards Rin. He had the same old steely look as the day before. "Today we start the practice for the dragoons. In this box are your LG-406 exorcist guns, with the exception of Miss Kimiki who already has a gun. Today you will be practicing using only paint bullets. I have set up targets out in the dirt field where you will shoot from fourteen feet."

He handed the twos guns to Koneko and Shiemi along with three cartridges of paint bullets. One separate one for Izumo's gun. Rin continued in his monotone voice. "You may all begin once you have set your guns. Extra cartridges are in the box. And don't forget, today is not about technique. It is about getting familiar with you weapon."

Rin turned to Shima and Bon. "You two will be working one on one with me today."

"Yippee…" Shima said trying to sound enthusiastic.

Leaning against the wall were two wooden swords and a single wooden staff. Rin kicked both swords up into his hands and tossed one to Bon and the staff to Shima. "Both of you attack me with all you've got."

"But-" As Shima started whine, Bon was already lunging towards Rin at full force.

Shima just watched as Bon furiously swung at Rin with no avail. Each of his wild swings were easily blocked or dodged by Rin, who wasn't even breaking a sweat. Bon on the other hand was breathing heavily and sweating buckets.

"You're moving too much. Focus in on your opponent and center your strikes on the weapon so that you're not blindly swinging." Rin advised.

Bon stood up straighter and took the advice and ran towards Rin focusing on his weapon. The wooden swords clashed with a loud thunking noise. They were face to face pushing against each other's swords. Bon was actually surprised that he was able to get close and actually hit Rin's sword. His anger boiled and he wanted to hit him so badly. He swung to the right only to be parried by Rin's sword. Rin easily knocked Bon's sword away and kicked him to the ground. Bon was left in the dust on his butt glaring up at Rin.

Rin spoke in a cold tone. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Such things can get in the way in a fight."

Bon didn't hesitate to reply "I suggest you do the same." He spat. "That shit you pulled yesterday was uncalled for."

"I did what I was ordered to do, and that is to teach." Rin retorted in his monotone voice.

Bon got off the ground and stood in Rin's face. "You bastard!"

"Bon!"

Bon turned to see Yukio put a hand on his shoulder. "What?!"

Yukio pulled him to the side. "You need to cool it down. I know you're angry, and who's to say we all aren't? But you need to keep yourself in check…remember what Shura said. Don't start a fight you can't win."

"But wouldn't you fight him?! Even after what he did to Shura!" Bon was clearly pissed off.

"No matter how much I would like to fight him, I know it's not something I should do." Yukio lowered his voice into a whisper to Bon. "Trust me. Shura has to hold me back from getting revenge on him." Yukio released Bon's shoulder. "Now go rest up."

Bon reluctantly nodded and headed to the resting benches. Yukio turned and gave Rin one last look and was returned a cold stare.

Rin went back to training the other exwires. "Shima you're up next."

Shima shivered "Oh crud…." He adjusted his bandana and reluctantly walked towards Rin. 'He's gonna kill meee' Shima thought. The rest of class was filled with sounds of gunfire and Shima's shrieks.

**A/N: Shima's a baby…**

**It's a short chapter...I KNOW!**

**I know it's a slow chapter but I promise it won't always be like that! Thanks for reading and don't forget… PLEASE COMMENT!**

**-Hugs and giggles, Kinue**


	5. Outside Business

**Disclaimer: Do I look like someone who owns Blue Exorcist? *gestures to self* NO! I don't!**

**Outside Business:**

_It's so cold in here. I can't see or feel myself, but I know I'm shivering. I sit on the floor of this closed in room. No one is here..…I'm Alone. It's so dark that it is impossible to see anything. All I see is black._

_But for some reason…..I know I'm surrounded by walls. There are four of them…..they envelop me like a pitch black box. _

_No doors…_

_No windows…_

_It is impossible to leave this dark room for I have tried too many times. My fingers bleed and bruise in attempt of scratching through the dark walls. I gave up screaming a long time ago…..no one hears me._

_I've been abandoned…_

_I've been hurt…_

_I hardly remember why anymore…_

_The room clouds my thoughts. It's often hard to think straight or get a hold of what's real and what isn't. I don't care anymore…..so I sit alone in the cold darkness. I can feel the walls build up and grow stronger as I drift off and seclude myself…_

_I'm empty…._

_Nothing more than a hollow shadow…_

_It's cold…._

_Something catches my attention. I turn to my left where a dark wall meets my gaze. There was something odd…..something that wasn't ever there before…..it was a crack. It was small, hardly even noticeable…..But it was there._

_It lay right in the middle of the dark wall. Only as big as my thumb. A soft white glow emitted from the small crack._

_But for some reason…..I turn my head and ignore it._

* * *

Shima trudged into Yukio's homeroom class with a pained look on his face. It had been over two weeks since they had first started their weapon practice. He limped over to his desk and flopped into his seat "Ugh…" he dropped his head onto the surface of his desk.

"What's up with you?" Izumo asked while rolling her eyes.

"Mmmmrb blm plrn drmmp." Shima mumbled as his face was still planted into the desk.

Izumo just sighed and whacked the back of his head. "Oi..."

His head immediately shot up. "Ow! What was that for?!" Shima whined.

"You were the one not properly answering a question." She stated as a matter of fact. "So, why are you acting like an injured sloth?"

Shima just sighed and rested his chin on the desk "Rin is really clobbering me during training. I'm seriously covered in bruises and welts."

Izumo snickered "Well if you weren't so weak…"

"Hey, I'm way better than I was a few weeks ago. I can actually block and dodge a lot of his attacks!" Shima insisted.

Izumo only snickered again and walked back to her desk. She had her short hair tied up into bun that was topped off with a white bow. Shiemi had suggested her change in hair, and claimed that it would bring out her feminine side.

She was actually kind of excited to show off her new hair doo to the guys, but Shima was too busy pitying himself and didn't even notice while Bon and Koneko weren't even in class yet. Izumo sighed and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She stared off and tried to put her mind elsewhere.

Self Defense class has been surprisingly good for the past few weeks. They had gotten familiar with their guns and started to learn technique of how to handle and shoot the gun properly. About a week ago they had moved the targets farther so that they were twenty feet away now.

Izumo was able to hit the bulls-eye of all the targets at fourteen feet on the second day, while Shiemi on the other hand was finally able to hit the bulls-eye on the fifth day. By the seventh day they had moved on to farther targets.

It had been decided that they would be using real bullets starting with the twenty foot targets. Izumo had already shot a gun with real bullets before, so the aftershock of the gun didn't affect her as much. But Shiemi was knocked over by the force of a real bullet being fired. She had to admit, the paint bullets were much nicer.

Over the week their aim got better and better as did the skills of Bon and Shima. Rin made sure to work them extra hard. During her breaks Izumo usually found herself watching the two train with Rin. Shima was right, he does clobber them in the field, but she could see them building up their strength.

They grew faster, stronger, and more confident in their moves in each passing day. Even though the Dragoons had moved to real bullets, the knights still used practice weapons, but that was very understandable.

Izumo shifted in her seat and went deeper into thought. Rin still hasn't changed since the first day. He's still cold and distant from us, and he always makes sure he wears a mask of no emotion on his face. He doesn't ever acknowledge our improvements or achievements and he doesn't ever have personal conversations with us. It was kind of like he was personally distancing himself from us. For some reason, Izumo always felt guilty when she looked at Rin.

Izumo was brought from her thoughts by a piece of chalk hitting her head.

"Izumo…please pay attention." Yukio said sternly. Bon and Shima laughed at Izumo's daydreaming.

Izumo blushed in embarrassment. She hadn't even realized class had started! "I-Im sorry." Yukio nodded and turned back to the board and started writing again.

Shima leaned over in his desk to Izumo's and talked in a whisper. "Look who's not paying attention now." He giggled

Izumo only glared at him and threw her text book at his face. "Shut up, ya pink sloth!" She muttered. Shima held his nose and backed away quickly trying not to make any noise.

The rest of Yukio's class went without interruption, and after a short break, Shura entered from the Exorcist door and began her lesson on the effects of holy water on a Grindylow. She had wheeled in a huge cage with a strangely small creature in it. They found it odd that a cage that could probably hold a gorilla was only holding a dog sized animal.

It couldn't have been bigger than sixteen inches, with a dark green complexion. It was rather thin and stood on its hind legs while swishing its thin spiked tail like an agitated cat. The creature had a long slimy face and dark beady eyes that shifted around the room in all directions. It had webbed appendages and gills that seemed to grotesquely open and close.

"Whoa…THAT IS THE UGLIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!" Shima shouted while laughing.

Izumo looked at the creature in disgust. "What's that smell? It stinks like a rotten swamp!" She said while holding her nose.

Shura was on the opposite side of the room preparing a spray bottle filled with holy water. She stopped what she was doing to quickly inform them about the Grindylow. "The Grindylow is a water demon originating from Europe, more specifically, the United Kingdom. It is known for dragging small children into nearby ponds and lakes and devouring them whole."

"How does such a little guy swallow children?" Bon interrupted.

Shura just ignored the comment and continued "It creates a smelly slime often smelt in a swamp or pond. Usually these little suckers are the cause of it. Their smell wards anything bigger that wants to eat them, not that it really matters... But that isn't the only protection they provide for themselves."

Everyone in the class raised their eyebrows and watched as Shura walked to the large cage with the spray bottle. "Watch closely at it's second protection mechanism." She put the tip of the spray bottle into the cage and gave the little creature a squirt of holy water.

Everyone covered their ears as it immediately started to shriek and writhe on the cage floor. The holy water sizzled and steamed when it made contact with the Grindylow's scales. But as quickly as it started, it just stopped and froze in its spot.

Everyone stepped closer to the steaming creature to see what it would do next. It stirred on the floor and hunched up. Everyone gasped and stood back as the small creature began to expand and grow. Its muscle structure grew tenfold and hardened like steel. The spikes that covered its body grew longer and dangerously sharp just like it's claws. It let out low growling sounds from the bottom of its throat that could've belonged to a lion.

Shiemi looked scared out of her mind while Bon and Shima watched totally amused. Shura had seen this been done plenty of times, but no matter how many times she witnessed it, it still amazed her.

The Grindylow now stood at least seven feet tall with a hefty muscular build. Its dark eyes that were now a crimson red twitched and spasmed looking around the room. It continued to let out low growling noises while acidic saliva dripped from its large barred fangs.

Everyone's eyes widen at how quickly the once small creature changed. "S-So that's h-how it would s-swallow children w-whole…"Bon stampered out.

Shima looked like he was about to wet his pants. "Yeah, I was wrong…_that_ is the ugliest thing I've ever seen." He said in awe.

Koneko had his notebook out making notes and sketches of the creature's transformation from beginning to end. There is never a situation where you can't take notes or learn, he would of often say.

Everyone flinched as the Grindylow began to pound at the cage and hiss at them. Shura had made sure the cage had a barrier that the demon couldn't break.

Shura continued the lesson. "The Grindylow's second defense only takes thirty seconds to take place. In this size, it just about dominates all of its predators."

Koneko scribbled more notes into his notebook. Shura continued "There is no way to revert it back yourselves. It reverts back to its puny size whenever it once again feels unthreatened."

After that lesson everyone made a note to never bother a Grindylow…ever. Shura wheeled the Grindylow back into the large Exorcist door once it reverted back to its small size. After the exorcist door and closed and disappeared, class ended and the lunch bell sounded. Everyone grabbed their things and headed for the door.

"Wasn't it sooooo cool how it changed like that?!" Shima said while hopping around everyone like a happy child. His bandana almost seemed to fall off his head.

"Yeah I guess so….it was kind of silly though." Bon said in his cool guy voice.

Izumo rolled her eyes "Oh, so you _weren't_ scarred by the Gringylow?"

Bon just chuckled and smirked. "Nope. It kinda looked like my long lost uncle's dog."

Izumo glared at him and a devilish smile grew on her face. "Oh yeah, well I have this picture on my phone of you looking like a terrified child. I took it while you were freaking out."

Bon gulped and went into denial. "N-No, I was just…uh…about to sneeze!"

"Ha! Weirdest sneeze I've ever seen." She said sarcastically.

"It's true! Shiemi, you're on my side right?" Bon turned to find Shiemi lost in thought. "Hey are you all right?"

Shiemi looked up, a little surprised with a blush of embarrassment. "Yes, I-It's just that I'm kinda thinking about something." She said with a soft smile.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Shima asked.

Shiemi hesitated. Her face grew grim. "Well….did it bother you guys how that demon was caged and treated?"

Everyone was taken aback by what she said. It didn't really occur to them that the demon needed to be treated in a certain way.

Shiemi continued. "It's just that….I don't think it's right for anything to be treated in such a way."

Izumo put a hand on Shiemi's shoulder. "Shiemi, you're training to be an exorcist and things like this can't get in the way. It's true that the demons are treated badly, but if we don't stand against them, they will kill us. That's just how they are."

Shiemi just nodded, not all the way convinced. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She immediately brighten up and tried to put on her best smile. "We should get going to the court yard." She suggested. "Hey Koneko! I'll race you to the court yard!" Shiemi giggled as she grabbed Koneko's arm and began to run.

"Whaaaa!" Koneko wailed as he was dragged away by the playful girl.

"Jeez…" Bon sighed as he ran after them with Shima trailing behind, leaving Izumo to herself.

"Hey Izumo, come on or you'll be late for Self defense after lunch!" With that, he turned and headed to the lunch area, leaving Izumo to her thoughts..

'Self Defense huh...' Izumo found herself thinking about that class a lot lately. It would always be in the back of her mind wherever she was. 'Why can't I stop thinking about this class?' She sighed to herself. 'It's getting in the way of my other classes. Is it because I'm scared of using my gun?...Of course not. Is it because I'm perhaps scared of Rin?...I don't think I'm scared of him, being scared is for weak people.'

Izumo was almost at the end of the hall. 'Is it because I worry about Rin?' she felt her heart tug as she thought. 'I shouldn't care so much. After all he doesn't need any of us...why does it make me so upset?' Lost in thought, Izumo didn't seem to notice that she was scowling to herself.

"Hey Izumo, what's wrong?"

Izumo turned to see a worried Shiemi. "I'm fine, just a little headache." She said with a soft smile.

"Oh, well why don't you eat something then?" Shiemi patted the spot next to her. Izumo nodded and sat with her. Throughout lunch everyone talked normally and ate except for Izumo, who still had Self Defense on her mind.

* * *

In Self Defense class, they were greeted by their cold and stoic teacher, as usual. Today Rin stood in front of them like he had something planned for them.

"Today we will only be focusing on the Dragoons of the class." Rin stated in his monotone voice. "The knights in training will sit out today or will watch if they please."

"Watch what?" Bon questioned.

He was returned with silence as Rin turned to Shiemi, Izumo, and Koneko. "Today I brought in something new for a training exercise." He walked outwards towards the field and they followed. They stopped at the far side of the wall where three Hobgoblins were chained to the wall.

Shiemi was shocked at the sight of them.

"Today you will be shooting these hobgoblins to get a feel at what it is like to kill a demon with a gun." He said it as though it was nothing.

Shiemi's heart pounded. 'This isn't right' she thought to herself.

"Each of you have one to shoot. Aim carefully and don't waste bullets." He reached into the nearby box and pulled out three guns.

"Today's bullets are filled with holy water that will instantly kill them from the inside out." Rin said while handing them their loaded guns.

He guided each of them to their hobgoblin "Take your time to properly kill them." He stated coldly.

Shiemi shivered while looking at her gun. 'Can I do this?'

Izumo didn't waste any time and aimed at her target. It wasn't long before the first shot rang through the building. Izumo had managed to kill the hobgoblin in her first shot. Its blood splattered the wall behind it and the lifeless body of the hobgoblin dropped to the floor with a thud.

Shiemi flinched and gasped as she watched it happen. 'Why?' her heart thumped in her chest.

Five minutes later Koneko was next to take a shot at his hobgoblin. It was startled by the shot of Izumo's gun and was now writhing, trying to get out of the chains. Koneko's first two bullets missed the now moving target, but his third hit the demon right between the eyes. It let out a small cry as it immediately stopped moving and fell to the floor. Blood leaked from its eyes and nostrils onto the dirt floor.

Shiemi had flinched at every gun shot. 'I think I'm going to be sick'

Rin turned to Shiemi now for she was the only one left. All eyes were on her to finish her own hobgoblin.

Shiemi swallowed. Her throat felt so dry. 'I don't know if I can do this' she thought to herself. 'This is so wrong. It's inhumane.'

"Shoot it."

Shiemi turned to Rin who was now speaking up at her lack of participation.

Shiemi's gun shook in her hand.

"Miss Moriyama, if you want to become an exorcist, I suggest you shoot it." Rin said in an icy tone.

Shiemi was getting really nervous now. Sweat beaded on her forehead. 'I don't want to shoot it…but I need to become and exorcist. I need to for grandma' she thought, trying to convince herself. She readied her gun and pointed it at the hobgoblin.

Everyone watching could sense she was having an inner melt down. Her shaking said it all.

Bon noticed and started to walk towards her "Hey-"

He was stopped by Rin holding out his arm. "This is Miss Moriyama's business not yours. She needs to achieve this herself." Rin glared at Bon.

Everyone helplessly just watched and waited for Shiemi to make her move.

Shiemi watched the hobgoblin try to break free from the chains. It looked so scared and it didn't even know what was coming. 'This is sick…' Shiemi squeezed her eyes shut 'No one should do this…this is just plain sick' she wildly thought as she shook uncontrollably.

"Shoot it." She heard Rin say again.

His voice sounded so far away and distant. Shiemi felt she going to pass out. 'I can't do this' she thought.

'This is sick….' Her hand shook on the gun

'This is wrong…..' She tried to keep her aim but the gun shook in her hand.

The hobgoblin continued to fight the chains and whimper.

"Shoot it"

Shiemi could feel herself hyperventilating.

"Shoot it" Rin said in a louder tone.

Shiemi jumped at the louder tone and reset her gun at the target. 'I need to be an exorcist…' Shiemi eyes began to well up with tears.

The hobgoblin let out louder whimpers and pulled against the chains.

Shiemi breathed heavily as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks.

"Shoot it!" Rin ordered.

Shiemi flinched and a shot rang out in the building.

Everyone's eyes widened as the Hobgoblin went silent and fell to the ground. It had been shot in the forehead. Blood leaked from the corners of its eyes and into the slits of it's agape mouth. Everything in the building went still.

Shiemi's eyes widened in horror. What had she just done? Tears spilled down her cheeks and her legs started to buckle under her own weight of guilt. She dropped down to her knees and watched the lifeless body of the hobgoblin in true and utter despair. She couldn't stop the tears that freely fell onto her skirt. Who was she to decide when something's life is over? The sting of guilt made the lump in her throat grow larger.

Izumo ran to Shiemi's side worried for her friend, as did the other exwires. Izumo pulled Shiemi into a hug as she now sobbed uncontrollably.

Bon once again glared at Rin who was just staring with lifeless, cold eyes. "That bastard!" He growled.

Shima put a hand on Bon's shoulder and gave him a serious look. "He's not worth it right now."

Bon just shook his head in complete frustration. This is the second time he hurt his friends.

Rin gave one last cold glance to the students and turned to leave. He made contact with an angry Yukio who had been watching from the sidelines.

"Nii-san! What you just did was unacceptable!" Yukio shouted at Rin.

Rin only paused. "She needed that." And he continued to walk out the door.

"She needed to be traumatized?!" Yukio yelled at Rin's back. "What's the matter with you?!" Yukio's emotions accidently slipped through his last sense of composure. "What happened to you?!"

Rin stopped as though he was about to say something, but only started walking again.

Yukio yelled out in anger. He could feel only hatred for the one he used to call brother.

* * *

It was late at night and the night sky was bare. No moon. No stars. It was times like these that darkness filled the entire forest. A sense of tension is what substituted the lack of light.

"Hah….hah" The hard breathing of a man running through the brush was heard throughout the area.

The man being chased stumbled and tripped as he tried to make his way through the forest. His white lab coat fluttered behind him as he dashed through the forest, but little did he know, his hunter was not far behind.

His hunter gracefully leaped from branched to branch stalking its prey as it blindingly ran through the forest.

The man running was thinker and had brown thinning hair. He had worn glasses, but they were gone a quarter mile back when he had tripped and failed to find them.

If he stopped for a second, he would see a pair of red eyes coming towards him. The hunter didn't seem to have trouble seeing in the dark.

The man running glanced behind him only to trip on a tree stump. He face planted into the ground and sat up with a nose bleed. He quickly whirled around to see if the hunter was here.

He gasped and scrambled backwards as he found the hunter only a couple feet away walking towards him. He let out whimpers as he tried crawling away.

The hunter didn't want his prey to get away, so he kicked him hard, cracking a few ribs.

The man yelled out in pain as the shattered ribs scraped up against his lungs.

"Please….let me go…I don't want to die." The man sobbed and pleaded.

He heard a chuckle "You look so pathetic." The hunter said in an icy tone. "Humans disgust me." The crimson red eyes glared daggers at him. The hunter brought his hand down on the man's knee, snapping the leg.

The man screamed in pain. "PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!" he sobbed.

"I don't give mercy to those who don't follow my master." The hunter stated plainly.

The man in the lab coat heard the click of a katana being opened and reached into his pocket for his last resort. He hadn't planned on using it….

The hunter brought out his blade with a quick swish and bent down so he was in the face of his prey. "You shouldn't have turned your back on us." He said in a steely tone. He brought the blade to the man's face and made a small cut on his cheek. "~Time to die~" the hunter practically sang.

The man in the lab coat took this chance to throw a small metal container into the hunter's face. It exploded on contact into a large cloud of gas that engulfed the Hunter's body.

The Hunter cried out as the gas burned his throat and eyes and backed away, momentarily disoriented.

The man in the lab coat grunted and sat up. He had to get away….he began to limp only to be knocked down again by the Hunter who had recovered more quickly than he thought. He looked quite pissed.

"How dare you even pull such a trick." He growled "You are beneath me. Such things will not work on me." The hunter spoke in a dark tone.

He pulled out his sword again and hissed verses in Latin.

The man in the lab coat gasped. Latin…..that was the language of the family of Satan himself!

As the Latin verses were finish, and soft blue light grew quickly around the sword. In just a few seconds, the blade was engulfed by a great sea of blue flames.

The man's eyes widen. The Blue Flames of Satan! He was brought back by an icy voice that sent shivers up his spine.

"I want you to remember the name of your killer for the rest of eternity." The hunter swung the flaming blade back. "~Hi, my name is Rin~" he sang as he sent the screaming man up into flames.

It was seven minutes before the job was entirely finished and he made sure no evidence could be found. He blankly stared the charred remains of the victim. Rin was sent out by _**Him**_ to hunt down all the people against _**Him **_and his group.

Rin ran from branch to branch as he made his way back to the headquarters. He needed to report that his mission was a success. He continued onward at lightning speeds so that he would get there in no time.

'What foolishness that man pulled back there' Rin thought to himself. 'Did he actually think he had a chance?' Just thinking about defiance against him, made his blood boil.

Little did Rin know, that small metal container of gas, was going to give him plenty of trouble.

**A/N: Shiemi….my poor Shiemi**

**Ugh….sorry it's a little long….wait, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing! (Oh well)**

**PLEASE COMMENT! I need to know what you all are thinking about my story!**

**I'm trying to get these chapters out faster now, so that I don't disappoint!**

**Thanks for reading, and oh yeah….PLEASE COMMENT! (Can't stress it enough)**

**-Hugs & Giggles, Kinue **


	6. An After Effect

******Something very nice came to my attention last week. It might not be that special to you, but it is certainly very special to me...I REACHED OVER 100 FOLLOWERS FOR THIS STORY! I'm sooooo happy right now! Thank you everyone who is supporting and liking my story, I really appreciate it!**

**-Hugs & Giggles, Kinue**

**Disclaimer: No soy dueño de Exorcista Azul. Y sí ... esto es en español.**

**An after effect:**

Shiemi sat at on the ledge of the fountain with a half-eaten melon bread in her hand. She still couldn't find the appetite to eat a meal. Yesterday's events had greatly disturbed her and made her question if she still wanted to be an exorcist. She stared at her unfinished lunch and began to think to herself.

'I don't know if I'll be able to handle killing demons' Just thinking about it made her stomach queasy. 'I can't stop school all together…but I need something to protect myself in a fight. After all, I did become an exorcist in order to protect those that I love'

'Something so trivial shouldn't bother me…' Shiemi sighed to herself. 'But is killing ever a good answer to anything?' Shiemi frowned at this.

'Apparently Rin thinks killing is necessary…' Shiemi thought back to when Rin yelled at her to kill the Hobgoblin. 'He literally asked me to murder something in such a sick way.' Shiemi shook the thought away as a lump started to build in her throat again.

'No! I mustn't cry anymore! I need to be strong. I can find a way to deal with this problem!' She thought, trying to convince herself. 'Rin was always so strong…he was never one to give up. He would always think of something, even if it did involve punching someone in the face.'

"Oi Shiemi, are you all right?"

Shiemi turned her head and met a worried Koneko. She realized that she had zoned out, leaving her lunch uneaten. "Y-Yes. I'm all right."

Izumo punched Koneko in the arm and turned back to Shiemi with a worried look. "Yesterday is still bothering you isn't it?"

Shiemi sighed. She wasn't able to hide it after all. "Yeah it is, but its ok. I'll get over it soon…"

"You shouldn't force yourself to do things you can't stand." Bon said also worried for his friend.

Yesterday during Shiemi's breakdown, they all comforted her back in their homeroom along with Shura and Yukio. Yukio was genuinely pissed at what Rin pulled with Shiemi and wasn't afraid to show it. They all felt terrible for not noticing her feelings until the very last moment. She had even spoken up about her discomfort with the Grindylow! How could they have brushed that away?!

To cheer her up, they all went out for takoyaki…and of course, they made Shima pay. By the end of the evening, Shiemi had cheered up considerably. But they could still tell it was on her mind.

"I'm sure I'm fine." Shiemi reassured. "Thank you all for worrying about me." She said with a true smile. "It means a lot to me."

She was returned with plenty of smiles all around. All of them wanted to make sure that she knew they were there for her. It wasn't something they provided to Rin, and they didn't want to put anyone else through hell like Rin was.

"Hey Sheimi…." Shiemi turned to Shima who was scratching his head with a cheeky smile. "Um….are you gonna eat your melon bread? If not can I ha-"

Shima was cut off by an angry punch from Izumo "You disgusting pink sloth!

"Ow….Whatcha do that for?!" Shima whined.

"Because you're an idiot!" Izumo proclaimed while she kicked Shima back to the ground.

Shiemi laughed and giggled as she watched the other exwires have a good time. She knew that her friends would always be with her, and it totally reassured her.

The rest of lunch was filled with jokes and laughter, until the second lunch bell sounded. As much as they didn't want to, they had to go to the class of their cold hearted teacher.

* * *

**CLASS POINT OF VEIW**

Every one reluctantly walked back into the training building, as they did the day before. No one wanted to be in the same presence as Rin. They all feared that Bon would try to make a move to fight Rin again.

They all set their things down on the resting benches and found Rin in the center of the building. He carried the same wooden weapons that the knights would use for training. He watched them with cold eyes before speaking in his signature monotone voice.

"Today I will be working head to head with the Knights." He faced Bon and Shima who didn't have welcoming faces. "Each of you will have a chance to go head on with me. Today you will put all the things you have learned into a strong fight with me." Rin stated plainly.

Bon's blood boiled. It was like he was personally asking him to take his anger out on him!

"The dragoons will continue their twenty foot shooting with real bullets. Make sure you try to stay as accurate as possible." Rin said while turning back to Shima and Bon.

Shiemi gave a sigh of relief. They weren't going to be shooting anything living today!

"It is up to you two as to who will spar with me first." Rin said without emotion.

Bon immediately stepped forward, not even giving Shima a chance to volunteer. Not that he really wanted to go…

"As you wish." It sounded as though Rin was sealing a death contract.

Rin tossed the other wooden sword to Bon who caught it midair, and the staff to Shima, who fumbled and barely caught it. While they readied their fake weapons, the Dragoons started their shooting exorcise on accuracy.

"Whenever you are ready." Rin stated ten feet away from Bon.

Bon yelled out and ran towards Rin, ready to clobber him for all the things he had done to them. He swung to the right aiming for Rin's shoulder hoping to cripple him, only to be parried by Rin's easy blow. The sounds of clunking wood and gun shots echoed in the giant warehouse.

Bon didn't stop there and went in for multiple swings at Rin's sword. Of course they were all blocked. He was letting his emotions get the best of him. Bon growled as he put all of his force on Rin and his sword. They stared into each other's faces exchanging glares before Rin pushed Bon away, making him stumble backwards.

"I told you before…don't let your emotions get in the way of a fight. You won't be able to focus on an attack if you only focus on anger" Rin seemed to mock him like a child that never listened.

Bon huffed. As much as he didn't want to listen, Rin was right. He can't let his emotions get in the way. Bon took heed in Rin's words, and stood up straighter while taking a deep breath. He readied his weapon, formulating a plan that would allow him to land a hit on Rin. Once ready, he ran towards Rin, but not as foolishly as before. He had a look of determination and confidence and his attacks became smoother and more accurate.

Yukio and Shura entered the building to the noise of shots and wooden weapon fighting. They made their way to the sidelines where they would watch the class.

"Well….nothing seems out of the ordinary today." Shura said while sipping her beer.

"Keep your eyes open though….I don't want any of them getting hurt today." Yukio said in a serious tone. They continued to watch Bon's fight with Rin unfold. Yukio was quite impressed at how much Bon had improved in almost three weeks.

Bon kept his composure as he continued his fight with Rin. All of his swings made their way to Rin with great accuracy, but Rin always managed to block all of his blows. Bon started to use different approaches to Rin, such as coming in from the left or right, instead of from the front. This was considered successful as Bon moved in closer to Rin.

The fight continued for a couple more minutes, and no more progress was being made. That was until Bon noticed an opening on Rin's right side. He didn't let the opportunity slide and went straight in at full force. Rin was actually caught by surprise and was sent backwards as Bon still pushed forward on his sword. Rin tried to regain his footing on the ground but he began to skid and push dust into the air. Bon smiled at his successful move.

Rin walked forward again, but he seemed to stumble and have trouble keeping his balance.

"Yeah! Go Bon!" Everyone turned their heads to the now cheering Shima. It had gathered the attention of those who were working on gun practice.

"Wow, Bon was actually able to hit Rin…" Izumo said in awe. She moved in to watch Bon and Rin's fight proceed. She was followed by Shiemi and Koneko who were now also interested in the fight.

Yukio was surprised that Bon was able to send Rin backwards, as was Shura. They watched intently as Bon went in with another move.

Bon stood with a smile on his face. 'I was actually able to hit him…' he thought in awe. Rin walked forward again towards Bon, but he looked a little shaky. Bon didn't take notice and came in from the front and swung down hard above Rin.

Watching from the sidelines, Yukio noticed that Rin was getting slower. 'Something isn't right here.' Yukio thought worriedly.

Rin was barely able to block Bon's attack and was knocked to the ground on impact. Bon stood straight and was back in a fighting stance with a hard look. It was time for him to get revenge for all that Rin had done to them.

Rin coughed as he hit the ground with great force. As soon as he almost stood up again, he was hit by Bon, sending him backwards ten feet away. He was now coughing uncontrollably as he rolled on the ground covered in dust.

Yukio was now sure something wasn't right "Wait!" his yelling couldn't be heard over the commotion of the fight "Bon! Wait!" To his side, Shura had also noticed what was happening in the fight.

Rin looked like he was shaking all over and was barely able to stand. He stood half way up breathing heavily with his arms on his knees. His coughing hadn't ceased and now sounded more like wheezing. He had a pained look on his face as he gripped his chest and continued to cough.

Yukio was now running to the middle of the field along with Shura not far behind. Shura had dropped her beer and left it behind as they ran towards Rin. He looked as if he was in pain.

They all let out horrifying gasps and froze as their heartless instructor fell to his knees and started to cough up blood. Pools of crimson liquid spilled out of his mouth onto the dirt floor. His coughing turned into choking and gagging noises as blood dripped down his chin.

"NII-SAN!" They heard Yukio yelling as he was getting closer.

Rin heavily breathed as he tried to stand up. He wasn't even half way up before he fell to the ground wheezing. More blood escaped his lips.

Yukio was now at Rin's side frantically calling his name. "Rin!" Yukio looked at Rin with worried eyes. He looked terrible! Dust and scratches covered his body and clothing, and there was blood that escaped his mouth all over his chest. Rin continued to wheeze and breathe heavily as Yukio propped his head into his lap. "Nii-san!"

Bon dropped his sword. Everyone watched in horror as their once unemotional instructor began to writhe in pain on the floor.

Rin started to let out gasping noises as his body shook uncontrollably. "It…..hurts….." Rin gasped out as more blood poured down his chin.

"I-Its ok Nii-san. You're going to be ok!" Yukio said in a frantic voice. He watched Rin's dazed state with wide worried eyes. "Shura! We need to get him to the infirmary!"

Shura only nodded. 'How could someone's condition change so drastically over five minutes?!' Shura thought. 'He seemed fine only minutes ago!'

"W-What happened?" Shiemi asked in an inaudible whisper. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I-I don't know….Bon didn't cause that damage." Izumo started putting the pieces together. "Didn't you notice? He started to go downhill before Bon made any hits on him." Izumo came to a conclusion. "He must have had an injury before coming to this class."

* * *

**RIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

Bon took a step forward gesturing that he wanted to go first. Rin didn't care who went first, he just did what he was told to do.

"As you wish…."

Once the fight started, Rin easily could've beat Bon to the floor…..but that wasn't allowed. No matter how much he wished he could hurt him, there were orders to leave the students unharmed. He was terribly annoyed at how Bon would blindly swing at him in anger.

'How immature.' Rin coldly thought to himself. 'I don't understand why _**He**_ has me babysitting these worthless people. I can't stand to be around them.' Rin started to get annoyed with how long the fight was prolonging with no change.

'Humans are so weak….' Bon made another swing at Rin, totally missing where he had aimed. Rin sighed 'He had already forgotten one of the first things I taught him.'

"I told you before…don't let your emotions get in the way of a fight. You won't be able to focus on an attack if you only focus on anger" Once Rin said this, he could see a change in the way Bon fought. Not only did his moves become more precise, but he changed tactics and tried different approaches.

The fighting went on for a couple more minutes before Rin started to feel weird. A dull pain started to build in his chest. He could feel it starting to throb as he breathed. Confused, he tried to focus back into the fight but was caught off guard and was hit backwards making him skid back.

'Damn… I need to pay attention. But something's not right…..I can't seem to focus' Rin blinked his eyes to relieve some of the minor dizziness in his head. He let out a silent gasp as the pain in his chest intensified.

'What is this….' It felt as though needles were starting to poke his lungs. He huffed 'This is nothing I can't handle. I need to finish this quick' Rin only took one step before he started to see bright lights in his eyes. He stumbled as the dizziness returned but ten times worse. He only noticed Bon coming above him when he was inches away. Rin blocked it as quick as he could in vain. He was slammed into the ground with great force, bruising his ribs.

While on the ground, a burning sensation filled Rin's lungs making him cough. 'Ugh…. I need to get up' As Rin started to pick himself up again, Bon slammed into him again with much greater force, sending him flying backwards.

Rin hit the ground many times before he came to a complete stop. He leaned up clutching his chest. The burning in his lungs now felt as though something was ripping his lungs apart. Rin retched as he started to cough uncontrollably. He had never felt anything so intense.

'What is this pain?!' he wanted to cry out so badly, but the coughing prevented him from saying anything.

Suddenly he felt something tear on the inside of himself. 'IT HURTS!' he screamed inside of himself as blood spilled from his lips. He continued to cough and wheeze up blood. He felt the warm liquid coat the tops of his hands. He wanted to cry out for help to someone….…anyone.

'I have…..to get back….to…..headquarters.' He helplessly thought as he tried to stand up. It felt as though the room was spinning out of control and there was a building pressure between his temples.

It was as though there were hands gripping his brain 'I can't…..I can't do it…' he fell back to the ground with a thud. His insides felt like they were being shredded apart! 'It hurts…it hurts…..IT HURTS!' he was only able to repeat the same things over and over in his head.

"_Rin!..."_

Rin coughed and felt more warm liquid run down his chin 'I think….I think someone's…..calling me…' He was barely able to turn his head to find Yukio frantically talking over him. "It….hurts…" Rin was finally able to gasp out. He wanted someone to end this terrible pain!

"_It's…..Going to be…..Shura!...Infirmary!"_

Rin could see Yukio talking, but he couldn't hear any of his words. It felt so distant and far off…Almost like a dream. Rin could feel his conscience fading away 'I feel so tired…..I can't breathe..…..'

The last thing he remembered was being carried away by caring arms.

* * *

Hikari sat in the patch flowers humming a soft tune to herself. She wore a daisy crown that she had made herself. It gracefully sat on top of her golden locks and went very well with her white ruffly dress. She sat weaving another crown and began to sing in a sweet voice.

I'll give you a flower, mother  
I'll give you a flower, dear  
For life is but a garden  
To children of 5 years

I'll give you a flower, mother  
I'll give you a flower, dear  
For to a bride, they're lovely  
Mother, hold your tears 

She finished off the new daisy crown by tying the ends together and kissed it's soft petals. "There! Now I can give it to Rin." Hikari Giggled with glee.

"I bet he will look Bea-u-ti-ful~" She put made sure to put extra emphasis on the last word. Hikari giggled and rolled around when she thought of Rin wearing a pretty dress to go with it.

All of her giggling stopped instantly when she heard a voice.

_'It hurts...'_

She was used to hearing voices, but this one sounded familiar.

_'It hurts...It hurts...'_

"Rin?" Hikari felt a pain in her chest "Rin's hurting!" She immediately got up to go find Rin but tripped as the voice got louder.

'It hurts...IT HURTS!'

Hikari picked herself up and ran out of the field with tears streaming down her face. "Rin! Rin is hurting!" Tears of Rin's pain continued to run down her face. She could feel it. She could feel the way Rin was in pain. She could feel that he needed somebody.

'IT HURTS!...It hurts...'

As she reached the edge of the field, Rin's voice just stopped. "Rin?" Hikari wiped the tears from her eyes "Rin's voice is gone..." She stood and listened waiting for Rin's voice to come back. Only a silent breeze drifted across her face.

She gave one last glance to the flower field and ran inside. "I have to find Neji!"

**A/N: Rin...My poor Rin (It was somebody else's turn)**

**I hope the two different point of views were ok. PLEASE COMENT I love to hear what you all think. It really helps!**

**-Hugs & Giggles, Kinue**


	7. Nakama's Treatment

**A/N: Heeeeey, it's been too long! (I will save excuses for the end) I did rewrite some of the story. Only the parts that include the pairings that you all voted on. Some parts I fixed more than others. I hope it meets to all of your standards and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Meh, I don't own blue exorcist.**

**Nakama's Treatment:**

Yukio burst into the infirmary like a ballistic animal. "Hiro!" sweat drenched his body and he had a terrible look of worry on his face. "Hiro?!"

A small voice came from behind the nurse curtain. "Back here child." She called while sticking her arm out of the curtain waving him over.

Yukio was out of breath and struggled to get his words out. "Hiro…..we have….a big problem!" he gasped while making his way over to the nurse beds.

Hiro opened the nurse curtain revealing a nicely cleaned bed and station. "Now now child, slow down. Tell me what has gotten you so shooken up." She said with a wrinkly smile.

Yukio took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke. "We have someone who needs immediate medical attention as soon as they arrive." He still spoke with a look of anxiety. "Please, they've been terribly injured."

Hiro continued her smile "Why of course I'll help. It is my job after all!" She said with a chuckle then walked to the medicine cabinet and began to gather the things needed to treat a wounded person. She rummaged through the cabinet shelf after shelf and gave a huff of annoyance.

"We are almost out of antiseptic! Yukio, I'll have to run to the nurse's supply room and grab a few bottles." She stepped down from the stepping stool and headed for the door. "I'll be right back, and if they arrive before I return, there is a freshly cleaned bed over there. As soon as they enter with the injured person, direct them to the bed."

Yukio could only nod in agreement. He did have experience as a doctor and Hiro knew that. Though he wasn't as skilled as he wished he was. "O-Ok….." Hiro gave one last wrinkly smile and quickly made her way to the Nurse's supply room.

Yukio paced around the room nervously, awaiting his friends. 'Why are they taking so long?' His sickening worry was growing. 'Did something happen?'

Before any more worried thoughts could escape him, the door swung open with great force. Bon entered first as he was carrying the unconscious Rin on his back. He looked deathly pale and sweat doused his entire face. The rest of the exwires entered the nurse's office right behind Bon.

"Bon! What took you so long?!" Yukio asked, relieved that they had finally arrived.

Bon gave an apologetic look. "He's heavier than he looks. I also didn't want to risk injuring him further by running…..I'm sorry-"

"It's ok." Yukio cut him off. "We need to hurry. Set him on the clean bed over there." He ordered, gesturing to the nurse bed on the far side of the room. Bon nodded and walked easily to the bed.

"Where's Hiro?" Izumo asked nervously as she saw that they were the only ones in the infirmary.

Yukio was hoping they wouldn't ask that. He didn't want to worry them any further, "She had to go out and get more medical supplies."

"But what about Rin?!" Koneko asked as he started to freak out.

"Don't worry, she will be back any minute now." Yukio said trying to gain control of the situation.

Bon made it to the edge of the bed and carefully laid Rin on his back. His face contorted in a grimace as his body was lain down and he let out a low growl. Rin's cheeks were flushed with a fever and his breathing had become short and ragged. Dried blood still hung from the corners of his mouth and clothes, and his dark hair stuck to his forehead in sweat.

"What do we do now?" Bon was ready to take on his next task in order to help.

Yukio thought back to his medical training. "We need to take off any heavy garments, such as his teacher uniform coat and his boots."

Bon nodded. "Shima, help me out." Shima walked forward also ready to help.

They carefully unbuttoned the teacher uniform and gently started to slip it off. Bon made sure to lean Rin forward to get it off his arms while Shima lifted his legs to get the back of the true cross coat from under him. Bon took the coat aside and Shima began to unlace Rin's boots. Once his coat and shoes were off, Rin was left in a plain white dress shirt stained with blood, and black pants.

"This coat weighs more than I thought it would!" Bon said while looking at its damage. Blood was smeared all over the front while dust and cuts scattered it. It's silver chain jingled as Bon gave one last look at it and tossed it aside. "What now?"

Yukio didn't know what was wrong with Rin, so he wasn't sure what to do next. Hori wasn't back yet… 'What _Do_ we do?' Yukio asked himself miserably. "I….I don't know. We will have to wait until Hiro returns"

Just as he finished the sentence, the Infirmary door swung open again and Hiro hurried inside. Yukio gave a sigh of relief, as did the other exwires. She carried four bottles of antiseptic and an extra bowl of herbs. "Yukio, is the patient in the bed?"

"Yes, and he's ready for treatment." Yukio replied as Hiro scurried past him to the nurse bed.

She quickly set the supplies on the station next to the nurse bed and opened a few bottles of antiseptic. Drenching cloths in the cleansing liquid, she turned and stepped up onto the stool next to the bed to start treating her patient. As soon as she saw her patient, her eyes widened "R-Rin?!" she gasped as she dropped the antiseptic cloth.

The exwires all raised their eyebrows at Hiro's strange behavior towards Rin. She seemed to be familiar with Rin and it caught Yukio's attention right at once.

Hiro quickly started to look over Rin in astonishment and examine his chest. "I don't understand….what happened to him, and why isn't he healing already?"

Yukio's face grew grim "We're not sure. Right in the middle of training he suddenly collapsed and started to cough up blood." Yukio answered gravely. "Wait…..how do you know about Rin?"

Hiro paid no mind to Yukio's question and started to unbutton Rin's shirt. She did it carefully, making sure that she didn't jerk Rin in any unnecessary way. "I'm afraid this might be more serious than we think." She finally opened Rin's shirt revealing a tail tightly wrapped around his waist. Hiro gripped the tail and was barely able to get it to unwind because of how strongly it was clamped to Rin's waist.

"Why is his tail so stiff?" Shiemi asked Izumo worriedly, knowing that she knew the answer.

"A demon's tail is known for showing their true feelings. Rin must be in extreme pain for his tail to curl up and stiffen like that…." Izumo answered without a moment to think. Though it didn't show on her face, she was getting really nervous right now.

Hiro then moved upward to his chest and wavered her hands just above his skin and began to chant small verses. Her hands began to glow bright blue as she moved her hands forward and back, almost as if she was seeing with them. Everyone watched in awe as her hands grew brighter. They didn't know Hiro had meister abilities!

Hiro stopped right over Rin's upper chest and began to frown. "Just as I thought, this isn't good at all."

Yukio started to panic. What was going on with his brother? "What's the matter with him?" He asked franticly.

Hiro moved her hands away from Rin and spoke in a serious tone. "I don't know what caused it, but something has poisoned Rin's insides. No doubt that it was meant to kill a powerful demon. His insides are a mess! All of his organ tissue has ripped, and they are now collapsing on each other." She furrowed her brows. "And to top it off, the toxin keeps Rin from healing himself."

"Isn't there anything you can do?!" Izumo desperately shouted

Hiro was taken aback by the little outburst as were all of the others "My my child calm down, I didn't say there wasn't any hope for him." She said with a wrinkly smile.

Suddenly just noticing what she had done, Izumo blushed in embarrassment and turned away. 'What am I saying?!' she thought to herself. 'Why am I so freaked out right now?! Is it because I haven't seen someone so injured before?…Or maybe all the blood?' She asked herself.

Hiro got back to business and called over to Yukio. "Yukio, get your friends. We're going to need their help." Hiro requested.

Yukio turned to his students "Bon, Shima, Koneko. You all said you wanted to help right?" They all looked at each other and nodded to their young teacher. "Good, We are going to need your assistance in treating Rin."

"Don't worry, I'll get the job done." Bon said with a smirk.

Hiro immediately started to explain what they were to do. "I am going need you all to hold Rin down as I repair his insides. It is a short but extremely painfully process, and he will try to thrash and kick to get away." She warned. "When in danger, and demon will go wild in order to protect itself if necessary."

Shiemi shivered and thought back to the Grindylow.

They all gave nervous glances to each other and took their spots in holding Rin down. Koneko and Yukio held down his arms while Bon and Shima held down his legs.

"Are you all ready?" Hiro asked. After a short pause they all nodded, although Shima looked ready to bolt out the door. "Ok then, let's begin" Hiro lifted her arms again, but this time directly laying them down on Rin's Chest. She took notice to that he was barely breathing. They needed to work fast.

Hiro began to softly chant under her breath and press against Rin's chest. The all could feel the power in her words as they escaped her mouth. She began to speak louder and speed up as her hands began to glow white. Rin's face contorted in pain and he let out a painful moan. Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin when he suddenly jolted up and started to yell. Yukio had almost let go of his arm!

Sheimi and Izumo covered their ears from Rin's loud cries.

He thrashed on bed trying to yank his arms free and kicked wildly at Bon and Shima. Bon was actually taken aback by how much strength Rin still had in his wounded state. He was now questioning what he had gotten himself into.

"HOLD HIM STILL!" Hiro shouted over Rin's yelling "WHAT EVER YOU DO, DON'T LET HIM GO!"

Yukio clenched his teeth as he tried to hold down his wild brother. "Nii-san! Nii-san, calm down!" He tried to sooth.

Rin's pained yelling turned into more of a growling as he continued to kick and punch at the ones who were restraing him. He actually landed a few kicks on both Shima and Bon, but they refused to let go. Rin's voice was instantly cut off by fresh blood spilling from his lips onto the bedside. The crimson liquid stained the freshly cleaned sheets.

"Hiro! Is he supposed to be doing that?!" Yukio shouted as he continued to hold down the thrashing Rin.

"Yes! His Organs are just shifting back into place!" Hiro still focused on pressing down on his chest with her glowing hands. "I'm almost done!"

They all gritted their teeth and tightened their grip on Rin, waiting for the treatment to end.

* * *

After another painful five minutes of Rin's kicking and screaming, Hiro had finished and cleaned up the rest of his wounds. He now silently slept in a new bed with clean sheets and covers on the other side of the room. The other exwires and Yukio all sat by Hiro at her desk resting. The guys were totally wiped out from having to hold down Rin for ten minutes.

Yukio starred down into the coffee that Hiro had given him. Everything had settled down so he decided to ask Hiro some questions now. "So Hiro, how _do_ you know Rin so well?" Yukio asked. He was tired of not knowing what was going on.

Hiro starred at Yukio for what seemed like minutes and sighed. "I guess there's no need to hide it." She looked up at everyone and saw that they all looked at her with curious eyes. "As you all have probably already found out, I'm not really here to be a doctor for the students." Hiro confessed. "I'm actually a 1st class Exorcist and I specialize in a powerful healing technique that allows me to properly heal demons whenever it is needed." She paused for a second and looked over at Rin. "I'm really supposed to be here to be a doctor for a demon, and that demon is Rin."

Yukio was more confused than ever. "Why does he need a doctor? Can't he heal himself?"

Hiro had been expecting this question. "Yes, but I treat serious wounds that take more time to heal, like this one today. Though I have never seen him in such critical condition before."

"Does he get hurt often?" he asked "What does he do to get hurt so badly?" Yukio blurted. His head was swirling with questions.

Hiro seemed to stiffen at the more personal questions. "I'm not sure. I'm only a doctor. If I see a wound, I heal it. End of story."

"Can't you tell us anything more?" Yukio pleaded.

Hiroi gave a sad smile. "I'm afraid not my dear." An awkward silence filled the room and to get away from the conversation, she stood up and headed for the door. "I trust you all that you've got this under control now. I have to go to a staff meeting and I won't be back for a while. Feel free to stay and make yourself at home." Hiro said sweetly as she quickly left the room.

"Well….there goes another person who refuses to talk about Rin." Izumo huffed in annoyance.

Yukio angrily starred into his mug once more. Not only could he not protect his brother, he couldn't even find out anything about him. It's like there was giant wall separating them from Rin. What didn't they want them to know?

"I wonder what poisoned Rin." Shiemi thought aloud.

"Or who." Izumo added.

Shiemi turned to Yukio and saw how he was scowling. "Yukio, are you alright?" Shiemi asked

Yukio furrowed his brow. "No...I hate this...I can't even protect Rin! Even though I noticed something was wrong with him, I didn't do anything. I only stood there thinking about how much of a shitty person he was! What kind of brother does that make me?!" Something inside Yukio had snapped. "He's not the shitty brother...I am." he hoarsely whispered.

No one had expected for Yukio to feel so bad, after all it was just as much as their fault as it was Yukio's.

"You know that's not true." Shiemi tried to sooth. "Just look. You were the first one to run and help Rin." She said with a soft smile.

Koneko nodded. "Yeah, no one cares about Rin more than you do." He reassured.

"We all want to protect Rin too." Bon said with a smirk.

Yukio lifted his head to see all of them giving him smiles, and comforting looks.

"Thanks." he said while finally smiling.

"Well I'm just glad I got to see Rin's tail again." Shima said with a wide grin. "I kinda missed it, ya know?" It wasn't long before everyone was laughing at his comment. It was times like these that Shima really brightened the mood and for that, Yukio was grateful.

Everyone silenced when the infirmary doors opened again. They all expected to see Hori walking in, but were greeted by two unfamiliar Figures.

One was a little girl who couldn't have been more than 3ft.8, and only reached the waist of the man standing next to her. She had long blonde hair and stunning blue eyes and wore a white ruffled dress that just so happened to match her flower crown. Next to her stood a man a couple inches taller than Yukio that had chestnut brown hair braided down to his lower back. He had cruel charcoal eyes that had a hint of mischief and a thin scar running across the bridge of his nose. He had chiseled features and was slim but well built. He wore the same long Exorcist uniform as Rin, with the exception of a weapon by his side. They were both very beautiful people, and no doubt that they always stood out.

Yukio was the first to stand up and speak. "Can we help you? Hiro is out at the moment but I-" before he could finish his sentence, the little blonde girl ran straight up to him with a worried look on her face.

"Where's Rin? Is he here?!" She blurted in a worried tone. Her eyes and cheeks were red and puffy as if she had been crying. "I could feel that Rin was here! Where is he?!" She looked on the verge of tears.

The man that had been next to the little girl walked over to where they were standing. "Please excuse her. She's just a little shaken up right now." The chestnut smiled. "My name is Neji. I am a Upper 1st Class Exorcist here at True cross." He spoke smoothly as he bowed in respect. "And this is Hikari, my niece."

Yukio didn't know what to think about the two, but he was sure something was odd about them. This Neji guy had a sketchy feel to him. Like a shadow under the mask of a gentlemen

Neji continued his smile "We are sorry to intrude, but we are looking for our comrade, Rin."

Yukio hesitated to answer. "He's in the bed on the far side of the room. He was injured pretty badly, so we took him here for treatment."

Hikari ran straight to the bedside to see Rin. "Rin! See Neji, I told you Rin was hurt. He called to me!"

Neji sighed "Please don't mind anything she is saying. You know kids with their imagination." He chuckled. "Any who, we would like to take Rin into our care now. So if you would please give him to us." He said with his never ending smile.

The exwires could feel the atmosphere grow heavy in the entire room. This man had such an overpowering aura to him. They all couldn't help but think what would happen if they were to refuse to give Rin to them.

To everyone's surprise, Bon was the one to reply. "We have got everything under control here. We've already properly healed him. If you move him now, you might open his wounds again." Bon growled while scowling at Neji. He could feel bad vibes coming from this Neji guy.

Neji starred at Bon for a few moments, sending shivers up his spine, then walked to Rin's bedside. Not even listening to what Bon had said, he picked up Rin and carried him bridal style. He remained unconscious, and breathed easily

"Carrrrreful Neji! You know how important he is." Hikari warned as they started to walk to the door. Just before they got to the door, Yukio stood in front of them, cutting them off.

"That's far enough. Put Rin back, you have no right to just come in here and take him." Yukio said sternly. He didn't want anyone taking Rin away from them.

"And what gives you the right to keep Rin with you?" Neji chuckled. He didn't exactly like people standing up to him.

"He's my brother!" Yukio barked at Neji.

Neji's character immediately changed. His face darkened and his aura became absolutely vile. "So _you _are Rin's brother. And I assume you all must be his students" His words became vicious and harsh. "You all are the ones that pushed him over the edge."

Neji's words felt like punches to the face.

"You humans disgust me. Get out of my way." Neji spat as he pushed Yukio aside and walked out the door. "Let's go Hikari" He called from the hall.

Hikari picked up Rin's ragged Exorcist uniform and shortly bowed before leaving the room. "Don't worry about Neji. He's just gets grumpy when he's hungry. ~!AND THANKS FOR TAKING CARE OF RIN!~" She sang from out in the hallway.

The exwires just stood there in total shock. What Neji said really made them feel guilty and ashamed.

Minutes passed and Yukio still stood by the door wide eyed, thinking about what Neji had said. Had they really pushed Rin over the edge? How far did they push him? What did they make Rin do?

* * *

_I chose to shut myself away…Here in this dark place._

_I hide my face In my knees to keep my eyes from seeing the darkness. Why do I feel so sad? Was this sadness always here?...I can't remember._

_A sharp pain sinks in my chest...I hurts…It hurts so much_

_The silence envelopes me...… ~**Rin...I want to protect Rin~**_

_I hear voices…they are far and barely echo into my ears. **~We all want to protect Rin~ **__Why do I long to hear the voices? I want to hear….I want to be heard._

_I turn my head to the thumb sized hole in the wall. A soft white light flows through it. I lift my hand into the light. It's warm..._

_Are the voices coming through there? I want to hear more of the voices..._

_The first wall starts to silently crack and chip away, giving way to new light. White light streams through into my darkness…..darkness that I created..._

_I shouldn't ignore it._

_I can't ignore it._

_I won't ignore it._

**Oh my heavens! This took way too long. I don't want to be the bringer of excuses, buuuut…My laptop screen is kinda broken. In order to get it to work and show the picture, I literally had to hold the screen a certain way while typing and retyping the stories. **

**IT WAS A TOTAL PAIN IN THE BOOTY! I also started school again…..yippee!? Well thanks for reading PLEASE COMMENT tell me what you think!**

**-Hugs & Giggles, Kinue**


	8. Awakening

**A/N: Hey hey! So I'm not dead or anything. Sorry for the long wait! Here's your _Hot Spankin New_ chapter, which just so happens to be over 5,000 word long...har har! Enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: My name is not on the books, so therefore I do not own!**

**Awakening:**

Rin opened his eyes to a white ceiling. He felt a soft pillow under his head and the thick covers over his body. 'Where am I?' He quickly sat up in the bed and took in his surroundings. His vision swam at the quick movement and his senses clouded.

Rin pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Ugh….my head hurts' He took a deep breath and paused for his senses to return. He took in the scent of the room and realized that it was his own. 'How did I get back in my room?' Rin's head throbbed as memories of the past events flooded through. He remembered an intense pain and collapsing during his lesson. Thinking back, he also dimly remembered a voice calling out to him…..but nothing after that.

Rin put a hand up to his chest as if feeling through to his very lungs. There was still a pinprick of pain, but it caused no reel discomfort to him.

Rin closed his eyes and felt the soft breeze coming from the open windows on the far side of the room. The white curtains swayed along with his dark blue locks in the soft breeze creating an almost relaxing atmosphere for him. 'What a strange dream….' He though back to the icy cold pitch black room. 'It's strange….I don't usually have dreams.' Though he could barely remember the dream, the feeling of someone calling out to him was seared into the back of his mind.

Rin's relaxed expression quickly turned into a small scowl 'How could I be so weak…' the thought of being this injured disgusted him. Rin couldn't even remember a time where he had been at such a loss of power, and it didn't please him. He paused as his pointed ears picked up footsteps approaching down the hall.

Rin returned to his stoic face as the door to his room burst open and a crying Hikari ran in. She jumped onto the bed and buried her face into his chest.

"Riiiiiiiiin!" she cried "I thought you were deeeaaaad!" Hikari sobbed as she clung onto him like a koala.

Rin stared down at the young girl with unemotional eyes and did a mental sigh. "Hikari…you're hurting me." He stated plainly.

Hikari ignored Rin's comment and continued to sob and latch on to his chest.

"Hikari, get off Rin. You know he is still recovering." Said a calm voice from the door way. Rin turned to find a braided chestnut softly smiling at him and Hikari.

"No way Neji! This is the first time I've hugged Rin in a looonnnng time!" Hikari whined.

Neji just sighed to himself and walked over to Rin's beside and pried Hikari off of Rin. Once he set her on the ground he crouched down so he was face to face to her and gave her a small smile. "Why don't you go find somewhere to entertain yourself while Rin and I talk alone for a bit." He tried to convince.

Hikari puffed out her cheeks and started to pout in vain. Neji continued to give her an apologetic look with his kind smile. Caving in she finally huffed "Fiiiiiine, but I will get to play with Rin later!" she stated sternly as she started to leave the room.

Neji gave a sigh of relief and stood up straight. "Don't get into any trouble Hikari, ok?" Neji reminded

"~Kaaay~" Hikari sang from the hallway.

Once Hikari was gone, Neji grabbed a seat on the plush couch next to Rin's bed and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He took a moment to bask in the sunlight coming from the open windows before turning to Rin with his never ending smile. "So, how do you feel?"

Rin blankly stared out the window and answered without looking. "I'm fully capable of going back to the class tomorrow." He stated in his monotone voice before turning back to Neji. "You look exhausted."

Neji gave a huff of annoyance "Well, _**He**_ has been chewing on my neck ever since he found out you were so badly injured." he almost grumbled to himself. "I haven't gotten a break in a while, since I had to take up your missions."

Rin looked at Neji with his lifeless eyes "You have my gratitude for that."

Neji did a mental sigh 'Just as unmoved as always….'

"How long have I been asleep?" Rin asked while turning his attention back to the open windows again.

"About two days. Don't worry, we had someone fill in while you were gone." Neji reassured "Though I'm not sure if they are half as good as you." He chuckled.

Rin removed the bed covers and sat on the edge of the bed facing Neji. "How much injury did I sustain?"

Neji shrugged "Hard to tell. By the time Hikari and I found you, you had already been treated. Those humans took you to Hori, which is kinda funny in my opinion." Neji scoffed. "Acting like they have a purpose with you." He said with a hint of anger in his face.

Rin could feel the thick energy radiating off of Neji.

"They actually went against me when I tried to take you back to headquarters." His tone became dark. "They had no right to try to stay by your side…what was with all that crap about taking care of you? What a load of shit!" Neji barked. "I hate humans…I hate them….." he whispered under his breath.

Rin sat on the bed starring at Neji's little outburst. What he had said actually got Rin's attention. He knew that he hated humans, but not to this extent. He had never seen Neji express his hatred so much before. But what had he said about the humans…..?

Neji had taken few seconds to compose himself before turning back to Rin, who had been silent the entire time. He was surprised to find that Rin was scowling at the ground. "Rin?"

"Neji, where is my uniform?" Rin suddenly asked.

Neji gave him a questionable look. "It's on the dresser over there. We had it washed and repaired while you were passed out."

Rin gave a small nod as he stood up from the bed and headed to the dresser to retrieve his uniform. He unfolded his good-as-new exorcist coat and retrieved his white dress shirt from a hanger that hung on the knob of the dresser drawer. Though he spent little time in his living quarters, there were still the basic necessities of a room.

"You're not going out are you?" Neji asked in disapproval. "You know you show stay and rest."

Rin ignored Neji's protests and began to undress, beginning with his shirt. The pure white dress shirt had been ironed perfectly so that there wasn't a single wrinkle lying upon it.

Neji gave Rin a worried look "You need to take better care of yourself. Before you know it, you could end up right back in this position, but maybe next time you won't be so lucky."

Rin paused buttoning up his white collared shirt "You know properties such as death don't apply to me." He stated in a dark tone.

Neji shivered at his cold tone. "You could at least tell me where you're going."

He was returned with silence.

"What's so important that you need to leave now? Can't it wait till tomorrow?" He tried to reason.

Rin slid his arms through the heavy sleeves of the long exorcist coat and adjusted it against his shoulders. "I just need to talk to Hori about the issues of my condition." Rin stated plainly as he leant down to lace up his boots. "Once I get back, I will go meat with _**Him**_."

Before Neji could protest anymore, Rin casually walked out the door. 'Jeez…..what am I going to do with him' Neji sighed to himself. He once again turned his head to the bright rays from the window and took this time to finally get his well-deserved rest.

Neji allowed himself a few moments more on the couch before his eyes shot open 'Wait…did I really just allow Hikari to go off on her own to some unknown place?' He immediately stood up and headed to the door to search for the missing Hikari. 'There goes my well needed nap!' He grumbled as he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Hikari ambled down the hallway, just as bored as always. "I can't believe Neji kicked me out like that." She said aloud to herself. "Now I can't play with Rin-tama." She pouted.

To top it off, she had to make an entirely different flower crown for Rin now. The other one had withered away within the day of all the excitement. She had really been looking forward to showing it to him!

"What am I going to do noooowwww?" Hikari asked herself. She paused and started to think to herself before a large grin spread across her face.

"I'll go visit Rin-tama's friends! I'm sure they'd actually play with me!" She giggled to herself as she ran down the hall

* * *

The exwires lay in the dirt of the training ware house totally exhausted and sweaty. The fat man who subbed for Rin had made them run 40 laps around the entire building, leaving them totally drained. He didn't even work with them! He just sat and told them to run whenever they stopped while reading an inappropriate magazine.

Bon had been tempted to blow a gasket and call him a 'Perverted fat Ass.' But the others had decided against it. They didn't want to get punished with more laps.

"I'd...never think…..that I...could miss Rin." Shima panted.

"I….wonder…..if he's…alright." Shiemi replied, also gasping for breath.

Rin had been out for two days after his so called comrade "Neji" had come and taken him away. The next day, True Cross had given them this sorry excuse for a Self Defense teacher. He was nothing more than rolls…. rolls…and rolls.

Everyone gave a sigh of relief when the bell sounded for the end of the day, and dragged themselves to the resting benches. Yukio, who had been chuckling from the side lines, brought a box off fresh water bottles which the exwires took gratefully.

"Well, your teacher is….interesting." Yukio said with a cheeky grin. He was returned with many pissed off looks from his students.

"I'd like to see your face after you run a million laps around this _Ginormous _building!" Shima exaggerated while putting extra emphasis on ginormous.

"I hope that fat ass jelly roll won't be here much longer." Izumo grumbled as she set her already half empty water bottle on the resting bench.

Everyone gave solemn looks as they hadn't seen their cold hearted teacher in two days. It made them worry if his injuries hadn't healed correctly or if something else had gone wrong. It just felt so wrong to let Rin be taken away by Neji who obviously didn't like them. What was his problem?

What he had said when he left the room had greatly bothered them and only made them want to know Rin's backstory even more. Though it pained them to know that they were probably the cause of Rin turning this way, they couldn't help but to try to get closer to Rin. But so many things stood in the way of getting to him.

"Do you have any idea of when Rin will return?" Shiemi said with hopeful eyes.

Yukio could only shake his head. "I have no way of knowing and no one else seems to know the reason of his absence, so that rules out any chance of asking someone else."

"Couldn't we just ask Hori?" Koneko suggested.

"No..." Bon said as he stepped up with a towel around his neck "I already went there this morning and she said she hadn't heard from Rin or that Neji guy recently." He said while patting his face free of his perspiration.

Everyone sighed and looked bummed as they knew that they would probably be stuck with the fatty pervert of a teacher for another day or two.

Shima didn't like the idea of running a_ million _laps around the _ginormous_ building and just wouldn't give up. He raised a pointed finger into the air with a determined look and began his speech "Well I propose that we-"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before a giggling little girl crashed into his back, making him fall face first into the dirt floor of the warehouse.

"Ha! Pinky, you're out! I just tagged yooouuu!" a little blonde girl squealed as she sat on top Shima's back.

Everyone could only stare in shock as the little girl continued to stand and jump on Shima's back with an amused look. If they all remembered correctly, she was the girl that was with Neji the other day.

"Oi, you're not supposed to fall asleep when you play tag." Hikari scolded in a childish way.

Yukio sighed and stepped in and picked up the playful blonde. "You're Hikari, right?" He asked with a soft smile.

Hikari's smile grew broader. "Yep, that's me!" she happily blurted. "You remembered!"

Yukio almost laughed at how cheerful this girl was. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

Hikari instantly looked down in a pout. "Stupid Neji kicked me out of Rin's room to talk to him alone. Something about getting back to work..."

Everyone perked up at the mention of Rin's name and was tempted to ask a billion questions.

"I was lonely, so I need someone to play with."

Shima peeled his face off the floor and stood up while dusting his clothes "You call that a tag?! You didn't even tag me! More like bulldozed me into the ground! That's got to be some sort of penalty, right?!" Shima shouted as he protested against the rules of the so called 'Tag'.

"Nuh uh! You were just too slow, like a Grandpa!" Hikari argued while puffing out her cheeks.

"GRANDPA?! Oh, it's on little girl!" Shima yelled in an absurd manner.

The rest of them only sat back and watched as Shima was having a smack talk against a six year old.

"Don't be such a weiny!" Hikari said while sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah? What's a little runt like you gonna do about it?" Shima replied while putting his fists on his hips and looking down on her.

He was returned with a hard punch from Bon, who couldn't take the bickering any longer. "SHUT UP! Quit being such an idiot." Bon huffed in anger as he sent Shima into the ground again.

Yukio sighed and turned to Hikari. "So, Hikari. What were you saying about Rin?"

She paused and seemed to think to herself. "You mean him working?"

Yukio gave a nod.

"Well, he's always busy and usually goes out with Neji after he's done teaching class or after a little get together with everyone."

"A get together…..you mean like a meeting?"

Hikari paused and thought again. She played with the ribbon on the back of her dress as she brainstormed. "Yeah, I think that's what Neji called it."

Hikari now had the attention of everyone around her. Even Shima had scrambled over to hear what she was saying. Who could've thought that obtaining information could've been as easy as just asking a little girl?! She didn't seem to hesitate to tell them anything….and they wouldn't let this chance slide.

"So, what exactly are these 'meetings'?" Yukio asked, trying not to sound too demanding with the questions.

"I don't know, but they must be reeeeaaally important because _**He **_always makes sure I leave right before they start the meeting._**"**_

Yukio was now very confused "Wait, who holds these meetings? Who is _**He**_?"

Hikari grew a wide smile on her face. "The meetings are all held by Lord _**Akem Manah **_of course!" She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But I like to call him _**Manah.**_"

"Lord Akem…..Manah?" Yukio said with a confused look.

"Yeah! He seems really close Rin, and all ways makes sure to keep an eye on him. He's always talking about how important he is." Hikari said as she started to draw pictures in the dirt with her shoe. "Neji also seems to be really close to Lord Manah. They both have a biiiiiiig temper!" She giggled.

Bon decided it was time for him to ask some questions, so he squatted down in front of Hikari, not even bothering to hide his scowl. "What can you tell us about Neji?"

Hikari looked reluctant to answer to his angry face, but answered all the same. "Neji's my most best friend….well, second to Rin-tama. He works with Rin a lot, and is really protective over him. It's kinda weird though. He doesn't like you guys, but I think you all are nice." She said with a shrug.

Bon snorted "That stupid long haired bastard."

Hikari started to twirl her blonde locks in her fingers and sighed. "I always tell Neji to cut his hair because he looks like a girl, but he always refuses."

"Why does he care about his hair so much?" Koneko asked from the side lines.

Hikari was about to answer but put her hand over her mouth. "Oops, I don't think I should say anything anymore." Her face to turned upset. "I just remembered I'm not supposed to tell anyone…..It's a secret. Manah and Neji are gonna be mad."

"Can't you just tell us a little more?" Shiemi pleaded.

Hikari just shook her head. "No. I'm not allowed to say anymore, or else I'll get in trouble."

Yukio, who had been listening, had chosen to speak up. "Is Neji a demon?" He said almost as if were a statement.

Everyone turned to Yukio with surprised looks. Hikari eyes widened and she gave a small nod.

"I had my suspicions. Just by the way he referred to us as 'humans', and the strange aura that surrounded him. Older male demons grow their hair out as a sign of power and authority." Yukio stated as a matter of fact.

Hikari had walked to the other side of the room and returned to drawing in the dirt so that she didn't have to talk to them anymore. They weren't supposed to find out…. And now Neji was going to be mad.

They all stood in an awkward silence, until Izumo started to stomp to the warehouse door.

"Where are _you_ going?" Shiemi asked with a confused look.

Izumo huffed and turned around with her hand on the door. "I'm going to go look for this 'Neji' guy, and make him tell me what's going on around here!" She shouted while exiting the building.

"Oh no…" Yukio mumbled while pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't like this.

"Well I guess we should follow her." Bon said casually as he ran to catch up with Izumo. Shiemi, Koneko and Shima followed his example, and also ran after her. They knew that they couldn't stop Izumo when she was determined to do something.

It was a moment before Yukio reluctantly made his way to his students. He didn't like this. Nope, he didn't like this one bit.

Little did they know, they left Hikari, who was on the other side of the training room, just finishing her picture of a bunny in the dirt.

* * *

**-(Somewhere in the halls of True Cross)-**

"Izumo wait! Do you even know where you're going?" Yukio shouted as they all trailed behind her, struggling to keep up.

"Shut up, I know where I'm going." She sneered.

Bon scoffed. "No she doesn't…" he mumbled under his breath.

Izumo swung around with an angry look and punched him in the head. Apparently she had heard him.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Bon yelled while rubbing the growing bump on his head. "We've been running around here for over twenty minutes and we haven't even seen one person!"

Izumo narrowed her eyes "Well if you're so smart, where do you think we should look?"

"I think we should go back…" Koneko whimpered from the back of the group. "I don't exactly want to find Neji."

"Yes, I also agree with Koneko. You all should return to your dorms and study for the test on the Crocotta I will be giving tomorrow." Yukio said in a stern voice.

"Yeah, and he probably wouldn't even tell us anything anyway." Shiemi added.

Izumo gave an exasperated sigh. Why were they all saying this?! Didn't they want to have their questions answered? Izumo couldn't stop the guilt she was feeling. She wanted to be by Rin's side, like she wasn't when he really needed it. 'Why didn't I help him…?' was all she could think to herself.

"Why are you all backing out like this?!" Izumo shouted at them.

Everyone was taken back by her sudden yelling. "Izumo, calm down. Why are you yelling?" Yukio tried to reason, but Izumo wouldn't let up.

"Because if we knew everything, we could be by Rin's side and helping him!" Izumo continued to shout. She felt the sting of tears in the back of her throat. 'I don't understand…' she thought to herself 'Even after he helped me…..I didn't help him….Why?' she thought miserably. She felt so much guilt for everything.

Yukio could see she was deeply upset, but he couldn't understand why. "Izumo…" he began.

"GUYS!" Shima shouted, getting all of their attention. " Look!" he said while pointing down the hall to their left.

Their eyes widened as they saw Neji exit one of rooms looking around, almost as if he were searching for someone. They heard him mumbling something about 'leaving someone alone'. He didn't seem to notice them, and continued to look for the missing person.

They all froze on the spot and held their breath, not wanting to making any noise. Before they could even decide what to do about the demon down the hall, Izumo was running towards him, full speed ahead.

"Izumo wait!" Yukio whispered, trying not to get the attention of Neji, who had his back turned to them. But it was too late. Izumo was already behind him.

"Oi, chestnut guy!" Izumo yelled at him.

Everyone grimaced at her tone with him. They all hurried over to them so that they could take Izumo, and get of there. Who knows what Neji will do to her?

Neji turned around with a look of disgust, which only deepened when he saw who was talking to him. "What could you possibly want? I'm kind of busy at the moment." He hissed.

Izumo face was etched with a deep scowl. "I want you to tell me about Rin!" she demanded.

Neji was actually surprised with the straight forward question. "Excuse me?"

"I. Want. You. To. Tell. Me. About. Rin!" She said with preciseness, like he was stupid or something.

Neji's face turned into a look of irritation and his voice became deadly "What gives you the right to ask such a silly question?" he hissed.

Izumo took a step forward before speaking. "Because you have no right to keep secrets about our friend from us!" she retorted.

Neji snorted "Don't speak such nonsense." He said as a chuckle erupted form the back of his throat.

"What's so funny?" Izumo asked with a deadly serious tone.

Neji wiped a tear from his eye "Oh nothing, just the fact that scum like you call yourselves 'friends' of Rin" he said, as he truly thought it was ridiculous.

Izumo's cheeks started to turn red in anger. Just who is this guy going around and telling people that they're scum? He annoyed the crap out of Izumo. "We're better friends than you will ever be!" she shouted

Everyone could feel a dark aura start to flow out of Neji and they all new very well that it meant bad news.

Neji took a step towards Izumo and narrowed his eyes. "You little pest. You actually call yourself a friend? How pitiful! If you treat your friends like you treated Rin, then you are nothing more than garbage!" He growled.

Even though Neji stood almost a foot taller, Izumo stood her ground and was up in Neji's face in seconds. "A bastard demon like you, doesn't have room to talk!" She spat.

_SLAP! _ That's where she crossed the line.

Everything was silenced with the loud crack against Izumo's face. Neji stood with and absolute look of rage on his face. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Yukio was next to Izumo without a moment to waist, and immediately pulled her back away from Neji. She only stood in shock while holding her swelling cheek.

"How dare you!" Yukio shouted while standing between Izumo and Neji.

"How dare I? How dare you!" Neji fumed "You disgusting humans are all the same! You don't deserve Rin! He's too good for all of you!" Neji's dark aura was starting to suffocate those around him.

Yukio stood speechless with the dark pressure against his chest. He turned his head to see the other exwires next to Izumo. They all stood wide eyed as they had seen Neji hit her.

Izumo stood in silence with her bangs shielding her eyes. Even though it hurt and she could feel tears threatening to fall, she still couldn't give up. Not now. She couldn't explain why, but she wanted to be with Rin. She wasn't used to feeling like this. What was this feeling?

Neji took a deep breath to calm himself. He seemed to be fed up with all of them "I have better things to do then waste my breath on human scum like you. So if you'll excuse me.." he growled as he turned around and started to walk away.

Yukio was relieved to see Neji walking away, but that was short lived when he heard Izumo call out from behind him.

"Wait you demon bastard!" She yelled.

They all watched in dismay as Izumo ran past all of them and launched herself at Neji and grabbed onto his coat.

"Tell me about Rin! Don't run away you coward!" She screamed at him.

When Neji turned around, they all stood in shock as they saw Neji barring his fangs at Izumo. He looked like an animal.

"You….dare touch me!" He growled. "You filthy Human, I thought you would've learned the first time!"

Izumo only replied by spitting in his face.

Neji wiped the spit away let out a loud roar "THAT'S IT YOU HUMAN BITCH! I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" he bellowed.

Everyone screamed and looked in horror as a shining sword appeared in Neji's hand. Where had it come from?! He gave a mad laugh and swung down his sword. You could see the intent to kill in his eyes...like a true demon "ONE LESS HUMAN TO WORRY ABOUT!" he laughed.

Yukio started to pull out his gun in vain. He knew he wouldn't reach her in time. "Izumo!"

"No!" Cried Shiemi as she could only watch in dismay.

Izumo could feel fear spiking through her body. 'I don't want to die…I didn't get to help Rin….' She thought as she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the blade to hit her. It felt like an eternity. Time felt like it was slowing down as she heard the yells of her friends and the crazy laugh from the cruel Neji. The blade should hit her any moment now...But it didn't.

All the screaming and yelling grew deathly silent.

Izumo waited a few moments before cracking her eyes open to see why she wasn't dead yet, and stood wide eyed in absolute shock.

Rin, their heartless teacher, stood between her and Neji with Neji's blade caught between his fingers. He had stopped it almost as if it were nothing.

Yukio and the exwires stood in disbelief at what Rin had just done.

Neji too was wide eyed to see that it was Rin who intercepted his kill. What was he doing here? "Rin…"

Izumo couldn't help but let her warm tears spill across her face, as she looked at the tall strong figure before her. Her body trembled as she began to sob.

The exwires shook themselves out of their dazes and ran to the now crying Izumo. It all happened so fast.

Everything was silent besides Izumo's cries, until Rin spoke in his Monotone voice.

"Neji, I believe you were looking for this." He said while pulling Hikari from beside him.

Neji looked down at the 'now found' girl he was searching for. "U-Uh…Yeah" was all he managed to studder.

"I found her in the Exorcist's training warehouse...alone." Rin stated simply. He still hadn't let go of Neji's blade.

Neji could only stare in shock.

Rin continued "We have a meeting with Manah in twenty minutes….I suggest you get going." He said.

Neji only nodded and put his blade down, defeated. The blade instantly disappeared in midair and he turned to the smiling Hikari. "Let's go Hikari." He said in a low voice. Together they left down the hall, leaving Rin and the Exwires.

The hallway was filled with awkward silence shared with Izumo's now quieting sobs.

After a few moments, Rin turned to the exwires with his stoic face and seemed to analyze them. His blue eyes caught the light, and seemed to shine with his cross earing.

"U-Um….sorry for the inconvenience…." Yukio apologized quietly. He was returned with a cold stare.

"This is my repay for you healing me with Hori. You have my thanks." He stated blankly. "You should all leave now." He almost demanded.

They all stood there for a moment before nodding their heads, and leaving in silence down the hall.

Rin watched them until they rounded the corner, and he could see them no more.

* * *

In the meeting room full of the 1st Class Exorcists, Rin sat on the couch with a bored look. He tried to ignore ignore all of the loud noises around him. All he wanted to do was go onto the roof, but Manah wanted him in here when the meeting started.

He closed his eyes in attempt to blocking out all the noise. It was short lived when a he felt a figure approach him

"Rin." A calm voice called him.

Rin opened his eyes to see Neji standing in front of him. "Neji." he acknowledged.

"Why did you stop my blade?" Neji asked bluntly. He was very confused as to why Rin had pulled such an action.

"What do mean?" Rin asked in his usual monotone voice.

Neji started to get irritated. "You know what I mean! Why didn't you let me hit that stupid human girl?" he once again asked.

He was returned with silence.

"Rin, you knew you could have just let me slice that girl. You've never stopped me before, so why did you stop me then?" he asked with true curiosity.

Rin seemed to think deeply for a few moments before turning his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with Neji. "I...don't know." He said truthfully.

Neji was a little surprised that Rin didn't even know himself. It was a little suspicious, but he decided to ignore it for now. Neji sighed before speaking again. "Well what ever. Just make sure you take care of yourself on tonight's mission." Neji warned before turning around and walking towards the table with the other Exorcists.

Rin sat there confused with himself. 'Why did I stop that blade?' he thought to himself. 'I could've just let Neji do whatever he wanted, but...' Rin furrowed his brows 'Why...?'

* * *

**Well...that was a lot in one chapter!** _**He **_**was revealed to be _Akem Manah,_** **and I know you all are probably all like "FINALLY!" haha, so...yeah.**

**Don't forget to ~COMMENT~ cause I always like to read your feed back!**

**Hope you liked it**

**-Hugs & Giggles, Kinue.**


End file.
